Limits
by sheelaflower
Summary: Adventures are fun. Danger is fun. Fighting is fun. But getting pushed to his limits ... not so much. Seeing Amy getting pushed past hers time and time again even less. Sonic just had to go on this new adventure, didn't he?
1. The Winds of Change

_._

 _Carry on my wayward son_

 _There'll be peace when you are done_

 _Lay your weary head to rest_

 _Don't you cry no more_

* * *

 **Chapter one: The Winds of change**

It wasn't too long ago, that Tails had been able to smile. He would laugh and fool around and crack jokes and get distressed when he'd fallen for a prank. He'd run around with his friends, stopping bad guys, saving the day and feeling proud of himself for doing so. He'd complain about his friends calling him a child. He'd get fired up to create something even greater when they were impressed by one of his inventions. He'd get delighted. He'd get exasperated. He had been happy. It was in those days that he had been certain things would always be the same.

Not too long ago, Tails hadn't known that the winds of change were relentless. First, they brought him joy in the form of rosebuds and blue eyes. It came with a side of fluttering hearts and pink cheeks, symptoms he soon identified as 'love'. Then, they stripped it all away.

Ever since, he could only be found cooped up in his house, if he wasn't tending to his gardens. Though he was a mechanical genius, he stayed away from his planes and gadgets, and had taken to caring for flowers instead. Of course, being new at such a task, he had little success. Despite the numerous books he bought, loaned and downloaded, despite the videos and the tips and tricks and everything else he managed to get his hands on, there were always a few flowers that refused to survive. More often than not, they were the ones who reminded him of blue eyes and rosebuds.

Every time he lost another plant. Every time he looked at the seed she had left him. Every time he thought of her smile. Every single time, he cried. Sometimes they were ugly cries. The kind that were loud and messy and left stains everywhere. He would cry like that when the pain overwhelmed and suffocated him. When it dulled all emotions, he would sniffle and hardly notice the tears falling, his attention on the skies or the trees or just nothing at all.

His friends would try to help. However, their constant visits and attempts to make him feel better really did more harm than good. The more they tried, the more he wished they would just go away. In the end, his silence had driven them away. Whether it was because they decided it would help him more to leave him be or if they simply gave up on helping him, Tails didn't really care. He was glad that he was left in peace.

Though he now knew it wasn't true, he still wondered if things would always stay this way. He always threw away this thought. After all, he was older now; wiser. He understood that the winds of change never rested.

What he hadn't expected was for them to visit him so soon. If someone were to search for him on that fateful day, they would have found him tending to a new plant; one he had become especially attached to. It reminded him ever so much of her. This one, too, had wilted.

Once more, he cried. Today, he was crying silently, no sobs, no sniffles, just tears. It was the way he would cry when there was no pain … only despair. He wondered if the tears would dry out; if someday there just wouldn't be anymore left. If this hole inside him would disappear. Until that day, he would plant flowers and he would cry when they died. That's how he sat for a long time, staring silently at his newest failure as the tears fell from his eyes. There was nobody there to console him. He had driven all attempts away. But it was silent and peaceful this way and Tails had learned to take consolation in this peace. Hence it was such an upset that on this fateful day, he was disturbed. It just so happened that Tails was a friend, the best friend, of the legendary Sonic the hedgehog. And Sonic the hedgehog had many foes. The most notorious of them all would have to be Eggman. Some would have said he came out of the blue. Others would have seen his attack coming a mile away. Tails just heard the Egg Mobile as it approached, his ears twitching when he picked up the sound, before finally turning to face the person that wished to disturb him.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Eggman cackled. "Things have been far too peaceful around here, wouldn't you agree?"

Tails responded by staring blankly at the large man, whose grin faded a little.

"So Tails, as Sonic's best friend, I'm sure you can tell me where I can find the rod-, I mean the lovely young hero."

Tails kept silent, though his expression hardened a bit. Eggman's grin turned into a frown.

"I don't really want to do this Tails. I mean I do, but saying 'I don't want to do this' is the polite thing to do before doing it. Now here's the thing; if Sonic doesn't come out, I'll have to lure him out and the best way to do so is by attacking his friends. You know what that means, right Tails?"

More silence from the fox and Eggman started gritting his teeth.

"Cursed rodent!" The large man spat before hitting a button on his Egg Mobile. Two canons emerged from the sides of the machine and Eggman's grin returned.

"I'll fire these and Sonic will HAVE to crawl out of his hole - or at the very least, I can have some fun fighting you a bit", Eggman cackled.

Tails' expression softened at the sight of the cannons. If Sonic were to come and save him, Eggman would have his fun and he would be left to tend to his flowers in peace. On the other hand, if Sonic didn't appear, then Eggman had done one huge miscalculation; Tails had no intention of fighting back. A blast from those cannons would surely be enough to evaporate him and in Tails' current state of mind, the thought was not entirely unpleasant. So he straightened up and stared blankly at his foe. Eggman's grin had turned back into a scowl, taking the young fox's silence as a provocation.

"Very well then", he hissed. "Have it your way!"

He fired two missiles.

Tails stood there, unyielding, staring at the rapidly approaching death traps that were sure to end him once and for all. Resigned to the fate his foe had never wished to bestow on him, Tails closed his eyes, only sensing the distraught that Eggman was feeling upon realizing what was actually going through the mind of the two tailed fox. Killing Tails had not been his intention - at least not today. He had no control of the missiles once fired and Sonic was still nowhere in sight. On this fateful day, through an act of utter and complete foolishness, Eggman almost did something he would have regretted, something that would have made him switch sides for good.

Almost.

Instead, the missiles exploded before they ever hit the kitsune. Surprised, Tails opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright rays of purple light that had found their way through the smoke. As it died down, so did the light and Tails and Eggman found themselves staring at the figure that was still partly hidden within the smoke. At that moment, the only thing they could tell was that it was _not_ Sonic.

The figure did one swift downwards motion with its arm and as if caught by a blast of wind, the last of the smoke was pushed to the ground. In between the fox and the man now stood a female hedgehog with purple fur and long, combed down spines. She was wearing a small tiara on her head with a large white stone in its front and a long white dress with turquoise hems at its sleeves and skirt. Tails found himself intrigued by the unknown characters that were embroidered into the turquoise fabric.

Eggman's eyes went wide in intimidation when faced with the fierce look in the hedgehog's eyes, her confident composure and the mysterious staff she held in her hands. In his panic, he pushed a few more buttons on his machine and fired another eight missiles. The hedgehog held out her staff, causing a barrier of purple light to appear in front of her. The first missile hit the barrier and exploded against it. The second followed suit. When the third missile hit, the light faded just a bit and the hedgehog let out a pained grunt. Every missile that hit caused the wall of light to get weaker and the hedgehog to buckle under the pressure.

The barrier held six missiles. The seventh broke it.

The hedgehog stumbled backwards as if she had been punched and Tails just managed to catch her before she hit the ground. A quick glance at her told him that she was fine, if a bit disoriented, but when he looked up, he found the last missile approaching him with rapid speed. Eyes wide, Tails could do nothing but to freeze, his brain not quite registering what was about to happen.

But just before impact, the missile stopped in mid air, a turquoise light surrounding it. In his arms, the hedgehog moved, slowly getting back on her feet. Instead of the staff, there was now a ring hovering in front of her right palm, bathed in the same turquoise light as the missile. Through her power, she managed to push it back just enough to fit herself in between it and young fox, though the toll this action took on her was obvious; her breath was heavy, her face drenched in sweat and the light of consciousness started fading from her eyes. She would not be able to keep her grasp on this missile much longer.

A split second and all three knew nobody would die today. A blue ball shot right through the missile, effectively halving it and making it explode. The pressure sent the fox and the hedgehog flying backwards and when they gathered themselves, they were met with the sight of another, this time blue, hedgehog standing on the Eggmobile. He looked back at the fox and the female hedgehog, greeting them with a grin.

"You two okay down there?"

They both answered with a nod and Sonic turned back to the problem at hand.

"You know, for someone claiming to be an evil genius, your missiles sure could use some work," he sneered, his usual cocky grin plastered on his face. He crouched down so he was nose to nose with the egg-shaped man. "Missed me, Eggman?"

"Missed you?" Eggman hollered. "Why, with you being too busy to destroy my lab for several weeks, I've had all the time in the world to redo all the plans for my Eggman Empire. I've got it all mapped out, even how to stop you and all your little friends from thwarting them."

"New plans? That sounds kinda fun. I'd love to hear about them if I wasn't gonna whoop your butt for attacking my brother."

"As if you could blame me for my own actions when you weren't even around to stop them. I searched high and low to for you. All I wanted was a good friendly brawl to take a break from all of that meticulous planning - it's only half as fun as the actual execution, you know - but it was as if you'd disappeared from the face of Mobius. I had no other choice but to go after the next formidable foe and that so happens to be young Tails over there."

Sonic responded by stomping on Eggman's face, pushing his overly long nose back into his skull.

"Have you looked at Tails", he hissed. "He isn't in any mental condition to fight. Why couldn't you have gone after Knuckles or Amy instead?"

"I suppose that would have been an option. As a matter of fact …"

Tails let out a small sigh upon their banter and, upon sensing her confusion, turned to the hedgehog next to him. She tilted her head in an unspoken question and Tails answered with an uncertain shrug.

They looked back at the Egg Mobile and Tails couldn't help but to notice how much higher it was floating compared to when Sonic had first arrived.

"... and will you _please_ take your foot off my nose?" Eggman whined

Sonic complied and put his foot down, only to start tapping it. With his arms crossed, he glared down at Eggman, who swallowed heavily when he finally realized that he had actually managed to make his arch-nemesis angry.

"Ready to pay up?" said nemesis asked.

"Now Sonic, calm down. You know me, I never meant to do Tails any actual harm. It was you I was after from the very start."

"Well, I'm here now and in a second, you're gonna wish I wasn't."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, if I was you. After all, I don't know if anyone ever told you, but you're very easily distracted."

Sonic had time to be confused for only a split second before Eggman turned his Egg Mobile upside down, throwing the blue hedgehog off his floater.

"WHOAAAAAA!" Sonic yelled.

The ground was approaching rapidly and though the hedgehog knew he'd survive it, he still closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain of the incoming impact.

Next to Tails, the female got back on her feet. She ran beneath Sonic and threw her ring up into the air, where it stopped and started glowing turquoise again. Simultaneously, Sonic started glowing turquoise as well and his fall slowed, though not for long. The purple hedgehog buckled under Sonic's weight, but enabled him a soft enough landing only to fall to her hands and knees the moment his feet touched the ground. Noticing that Eggman was wasting no time and already preparing to fire an energy beam at the pair, Sonic picked up the female and jumped out of the way.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, evading another beam.

"Yes. Thank you", she answered.

"I should be thanking you. I'd be pancake now if you weren't around. I'm Sonic, by the way. Sonic the hedgehog."

Sonic swiftly dodged another beam, then deemed them to be at a safe place for the moment and set the female down.

"Violett", she curtsied. "Pleasure."

The energy beam approached them and both jumped out of the way with ease.

"You seem to be in need of assistance." It wasn't a question.

"What, to defeat Egghead over there?" Sonic laughed loudly, before promptly being shut up by an energy beam "Maybe you _could_ help. Can you give him a good scare? Y'know, as payback?"

"That man is not a threat," her tone clearly implied that she was -again- not asking a question, but there seemed to be a need for validation in there anyways.

"No … He's a bit of a pain, but no serious threat", Sonic answered hesitantly.

"Very well."

That was all she said before running off. While not even coming close to the ridiculous velocity Sonic was able to reach, he still couldn't help but be impressed at the speed she was running at, not to mention her questionably fast recovery. He watched as she ran Zig Zags beneath the Egg Mobile, effectively drawing the fire. Understanding what she was trying to do, Sonic joined her. They worked together to confuse and irritate Eggman until he became so frustrated, he started shooting a second beam. Each one of the hedgehogs drew the fire towards them, continuing to evade, run and jump until the beam began to flicker, before finally disappearing entirely.

"CURSES!" Eggman yelled, slamming his fists down. He hastily pushed a few more buttons, causing another hatch on the Egg Mobile to open, only to have dozens of laser blasts shooting out of it. Violett grabbed Sonic's wrist and pulled him towards the forest to hide in there.

"Come on", Sonic whined. "How are we supposed to fight that? And how can he even shoot those? Wasn't he out of power just now?"

"Observe the hatch", Violett answered, her eyes fixed on the open hatch on the Egg Mobile. "The laser shots emerge in a pattern. Once you've found it, you can foretell when and where the beams are going to hit. Then you can evade them."

Sonic did as he was told, keeping his eyes trained on the hatch until he finally found the pattern.

"Ready?" Violett asked.

Sonic sent her a grin and a thumbs up. She replied with a small nod and together, they dove out of the woods to face the lasers. They jumped and twirled, as if trying to outdo each other in a dance, not once getting hit by any of the laser shots. Not until the two - being as wrapped up in their movements as they were - moved back towards Tails. Eggman, however, was floating in the air and had a better view of the situation. He decided to catch the two hedgehogs off guard by firing an array of mini-missiles towards all three of them. Sonic only noticed what was happening when Tails let out a cry, shielding his face with his arms.

"TAILS!" He yelled and as fast as his feet would take them, he sped towards his adopted younger brother, pulling him out of the way long before the missiles hit any of them.

However, Sonic missed one mini-missile headed directly towards Tail's wilting plant. The young fox reached out a hand in a desperate attempt to do something, knowing that he was ultimately powerless to prevent another tragedy from happening. Only, instead of hitting the flower, the missile exploded right in front of it, leaving it untouched, if still hopelessly wilted.

"What the …?" Sonic mumbled and even Eggman stopped firing missiles, too confused over what had just happened.

Violett, standing tall and confident, stepped in front of the flower, staring at Eggman with a perfectly unreadable face. So how was it that the temperature around her seemed to drop?

"I am Violett Ocean, royal magician to the queen of Moebius" she declared.

She reached upwards with her right arm, the ring on her index finger glowing bright, and dozens of small, purple balls of light appeared around her, causing Eggman to flinch at the sight and Sonic and Tails' eyes to go wide.

"And you" she snarled, "shall no longer harass this child."

Eggman yelled in frustration, slammed his fist down on a button and fired all of his remaining mini-missiles in one go. At the same time, Violett motioned her arm forward and all the light balls flew towards Eggman. Missiles and balls collided in mid-air, creating a huge cloud of smoke that left the victor undetermined for a few seconds. Then, several light balls appeared out of the smoke and sped towards Eggman, only to stop right in front of his face. Fearing the worst, Eggman held his breath, not daring to move an inch while a single drop of cold sweat ran down his face.

"Leave!" Violett ordered.

Eggman grit his teeth, but did not dare move until Violett released her magic, causing the light balls to disappear. Once gone, the man shakily let out the breath he'd been holding, before pointing a finger at Violett.

"You'll regret this", he hissed at her, only to turn and fly away as fast as his transportation device would take him.

Once their foe was out of sight, Violett turned on her heels and moved towards Tail's dead plant. She crouched down and touched one of it's petals. She closed her eyes and everything went quiet. Sonic and Tails didn't even dare to breathe, while the little flower began glowing green. Slowly, it started regaining color and straightened back up, until it was perfectly healthy and facing the sun as if nothing had ever happened to it.

Violett then stood and faced the blue hedgehog and young fox with the same, emotionless expression on her face that she had faced Eggman with.

"How …?" Tails finally spoke, causing all eyes to turn to him. "How did you do that?"

Two pairs of eyes settled on the two tailed fox, one wide with surprise, the other one calm and collected. With the heat of the fight settling, Tails finally found time to examine the eyes of his saviour. They were an odd kind of blue, like mist over the ocean on a cold morning, but there was more to them than just that; there was something in those eyes that Tails felt he could read if he could only look into them deeply enough. And then there was the unsettling way those eyes were staring back at him …

"I inserted chi into it", Violett answered, ripping Tails out of it's trance.

"Uhm …" Sonic started.

"Later", the female interrupted before Sonic could even formulate his question.

"Okay … sure", the blue dawdled, not entirely certain how to react in between her downright rude one word comment and her intense stare-down with Tails.

It dawned on him that, whatever tension had formed in between the two, it might not dissolve until they had some privacy. Sonic couldn't exactly say he liked that, as no one should be closer to Tails than he was, but he was nothing if not optimistic and the girl _had_ managed to get Tails to speak. He might as well give her a chance. So he awkwardly shuffled out of the way a little, looking around to find the best way to escape.

"I'll just be … somewhere … yeah .. you two have a good talk."

A blue blur and an unnatural gust of wind was all that signaled the remaining two that Sonic had left. The staring continued on for a few more minutes, until Violett turned her head back to the plant, finally releasing Tails from whatever prison her eyes had put him in. Shakily, the young fox released a breath he hadn't known he had held.

"I have a good guess on what that flower represents", the female initiated the conversation.

Unwilling to engage in it, Tails turned his head down to his hand.

"A lost love", Violett continued. "Recent, too."

She looked back at Tails, who continued to stare at the hand that had now clenched into a fist. A frown appeared on the female's face.

"No …" she whispered. "It was more than just love."

This caused Tails eyes to snap back to her. He still said nothing, but his face seemed to communicate enough to the female.

"Confused?" Violett asked and it was clear to Tails she knew the answer already.

She walked towards the young fox, only to crouch down right before him. Her eyes were firmly set on his, pulling him back into this inescapable prison. Those unsettling eyes made him feel completely and utterly exposed, to the point where he felt the need to cover himself up somehow if only he could move.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Tails."

"You are capable of reading my eyes, Tails. Tell me; what do you see in them?"

His wish of looking into Violett's eyes as deeply as he wished got fulfilled. Squinting his own, Tails tried his very hardest to make out what exactly he was seeing within that thick, misty blue.

"I'm not sure ...", he heard himself say and his voice sounded far away. "Emotions … maybe. Not good ones. ." There should be a better word, a better way to say it, but he couldn't think of anything to save his life.

"You'll learn", Violett commented.

She fell from her crouch and made herself comfortable on the ground instead. This release of tension on her part caused his own to fall off his shoulders and he suddenly felt much more comfortable in the presence of the strange, female hedgehog.

"Every person is readable", Violett continued. "Emotions are easily revealed, a past only if it has brought forth strong enough emotions. Yours has."

Tails looked down, processing her words. It only made sense that having killed Cosmo with his own to hands would leave marks on him that others could pick up on. He furrowed his brow at the thought.

"Thank you", he muttered, "for saving me. And my flower too."

There was a blue blur and an unnatural gust of wind. It left as fast as it came. Neither of the two reacted to it.

"Do you wish to learn how to maintain this flower?"

Tails nodded hesitantly, not entirely sure what to expect of Violett.

"Put it in direct sunlight, where no shadow, no matter the time of day, will reach it."

The fox slowly got on his feet and dragged himself over to the little flower. With his back turned to the hedgehog, he couldn't see the sorrowful looks she shot him. Indeed, it was far more than just love that boy had lost. Worse still, for he was so young. She observed him in his clumsy garden work, saw how he struggled to unearth the flower and plant it where the shadow of his house wouldn't reach it. It was almost unbearable to watch. Another blue blur appeared and disappeared, followed by an unnatural gust of wind.

"There's more, isn't there?" Violett asked.

Tails continued to work, not daring to turn around to face her. He knew exactly what she was referring to.

"How …" she hesitated, unsure if she should really ask this question. "How did she die?"

Tails ceased working and curled in on himself. He really did not want to talk, and yet, he wasn't surprised when the words left his mouth.

"I shot her."

"You …" she didn't - _couldn't_ \- continue.

"Didn't expect that, huh?" Tails asked with a bitterness and resentment in his voice Violett was almost certain his blue friend couldn't have heard often.

"No. I did not."

There was a long silence after that and it was then that Tails realized that this female hedgehog - Violett - was not so different from the rest of them. In between her literally magical introduction, her fast defeat of Eggman, bringing a dead flower back to life and those binding eyes, she seemed to be more than a mere anima. Now however, she was looking at the ground, slightly remorseful, probably for asking. Her already misty eyes were clouded, possibly trying to figure what to do or say next. Now, she showed weakness. Now, she looked mortal.

"I know I overstepped my boundaries", Violett finally said, "but may I ask you one, perhaps two, more questions?"

Tails decided to turn back towards the female and sat down. It was all the confirmation she needed.

"Was it an accident?"

He shook his head, causing another wave of insecurity and careful thinking from Violett. She looked down to the ground for a while, brows furrowed, until her eyes finally flickered up towards him, though her head stayed low in advanced remorse. There was another, quickly disappearing blue blur and one more unnatural gust of wind

"Why did you do it?"

Now it was Tails turn to look at the ground. He had plenty of reasons somewhere deep within him, but never had he tried to be consciously aware of them, let alone make sense of them. He had to think about the answer carefully. Luckily, the hedgehog gave no signs of impatience, giving him all the time he needed. She just sat there, looking down to the ground as Tails was, waiting patiently until he was ready to speak.

"It was …" he tried, but then stopped to lick his lips. He needed another attempt. "She wanted to help. This was her only chance of doing so and she … she looked so happy … so at peace to get that chance." His face clenched at the memory of it and the tears welled up again. Why was he talking about this in the first place? "After all her misery, how I could I say no to that face?"

Why had he said yes?

She finally lifted her head to show how wide her eyes had gotten and within that mist, Tails could see the answer to his earlier question; when he looked into the mirror, there was something he saw in his eyes ever since it happened, something that he now saw in her. Something in her eyes mirrored his own. With that came an understanding that he now knew all of his friends would lack. They had claimed that they would and Tails had always considered the dismissal of that notion to be due to his grief, thinking that someday, he'd open up to his friends and find comfort and understanding. But looking at Violett, this unknown hedgehog that seemed larger than life at one moment and more mortal than any of them the next, he knew that he had waited for someone who shared that look in his eyes. He realized that only someone with their eyes would understand and that's what allowed him to open up to her … a little.

"You have a strong heart, Tails", Violett offered him a weak smile, the first he had seen on her face. "One of the strongest I've ever had the chance to encounter."

Tails opened his mouth to respond, but a blue blur cut him off. This time, Violett spoke before it could disappear

"You can stop now", she said and Sonic complied immediately. The wind followed him, ruffling his spines a bit.

"So … you guys are done?" he asked.

Violett nodded and stood. Tails followed her example, while Sonic turned to the female.

"Well, I guess I owe you one for saving my little brother", he said. "Those are some pretty neat moves you've got there. Some kind of magic?"

"Yes."

"And you said you were Alicia's 'royal magician'?"

"No."

Sonic and Tails exchanged a look. Both were certain that they heard her saying that she was the queen's royal magician and the current queen of Mobius was Alicia. Simultaneously, the brothers looked at the magician, who simply stared back. Sonic was certain she understood their confusion and yet, she made no attempt to explain herself. It irritated him a bit. Thinking back at it, her answers to his questions during the fight had raised more questions than they answered.

"Okay, let's take a step back", Sonic said, holding up his palms in a gesture of peace. "I know we already introduced ourselves, but we were kind of in a fight, so why don't we try again? I'm Sonic the hedgehog and this is my best friend Tails."

"Violett", the female answered shortly with a curtsy. "Pleasure."

Sonic tilted his head at this, "You're not Alicia's servant?"

"No."

"Then … are you a princess or something?"

"Or something", Violett answered.

Sonic gave her a flat look. He had a feeling this hedgehog didn't like him very much.

"Alright, Violett", he tried again. "What brings you to these parts? I don't think I've ever seen you around."

"You haven't", she answered. "I'm here on business, which I must be getting back to now. I trust Tails is safe with you?"

"You bet he is! Eggman isn't getting his claws on him ever again!"

His outburst of enthusiasm seemed to have no impression on her whatsoever. She turned around and began walking away.

"You seem familiar with the queen of this land", she said, not even bothering to turn around, "Should you meet her before I do, tell her I will soon visit."

Tails and Sonic exchanged one more look, wondering what kind of 'business' this hedgehog could possibly be on if it involved Queen Alicia. Both were unsure if they should let her go.

"Look", Sonic said, appearing in front of Violett in an instant, "you just saved my little brother from Eggman, brought his plant back to life and made him talk for what seemed like the first time in forever. You've got to let me repay you somehow. Don't just walk away!"

"No need", she said, walking past Sonic, only to be stopped when he sped in front of her again.

"How about a tour of the area?"

"Memorized it", she said, walking on and being stopped again.

"A drink?"

"Unnecessary."

"Then maybe dinner?"

Finally Violett stopped in her tracks, her ears twitching. He hadn't expected a dinner invitation to do the trick, but at least he had her attention now.

"Dinner would be … appreciated."

"Perfect!" Sonic grinned widely. "I just so happen to know the world's best cook. Follow me!"

Sonic started walking back towards the forest, only to stop in his tracks and turn back to Tails, who hadn't moved from his spot since his conversation with Violett ended. Sonic's wide smile was inviting and no words were needed to make Tails understand what it was that Sonic was asking. He sighed as an answer, but when even Violett turned around, he decided it might just be better if he went with them. And so together, the three of them disappeared into the forest.

* * *

 **Hello, hello, and a big welcome to Limits. Thank to everyone who checked in and thank for all the people reading. I honest to god appreciate it. Limits is going to be a complete remake of Dimensional Travels, the first fanfiction I ever put on FF and the second multichapter story I ever wrote and boy does it show. It's bad. Like, really bad. I couldn't NOT rewrite it. BUT if you are impatient and want to know what happens next, feel free to have a look into it, it' on my site. Just ... don't judge me too much, please.**

 **Talking about impatience, one thing I want to say beforehand is that I will NOT upload regularly. This rewrite is a stress relief from university and I write whenever I have the time and the right mood for it. Not to mention, each chapter goes through a rigorous check with my beta-reader, so I tend to go over each finished chapter several times before posting it. And that AFTER I let it sit for several weeks after finishing it.**

 **That being said, updates are (hopefully) not gonna take forever. Alysa (my wonderful beta-reader, who puts the icing on the cupcake for this fic) and I are already working on revising chapter two and I have so far written out seven chapters in it's entirety, with chapter 8 currently in the works.**

 **And I think that's all I have for now. Please leave a comment, they are ever so appreciated. Constructive criticism is especially welcome, questions will be answered next chapter so long as there are no spoiler and flames will be ignored. Thank you so much for tuning in, a HUGE thank to Alysa and I'll see you all next chapter.**

 _ **"Preview:**_  
 _ **"I …" Amy reached out her hand, only to pull it back in. She had tried time and time again to get the young fox out of his shell the last few weeks, nothing had worked. No good words, no cooing, no gentle coercing, no hours of talking to a locked door, no fresh bouquet of flowers, no picnic invitations … nothing. She knew perfectly well that there was nothing she could say or do to help right now**_


	2. Amy Rose

_._

 _Wise men say_

 _Only fools rush in_

 _But I can't help_

 _Falling in love with you_

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Amy Rose**

Amy heaved a heavy sigh, before looking up. It was a beautiful day, with a blue sky and only a few, white clouds floating about. This would have been a perfect day to visit any of her friends,go shopping or doing her favorite past-time - chasing after Sonic. Her mind was creating entire daydreams about said other activities

So why was she watering the plants in her front garden?

If she was honest with herself, she had no real reason. Something inside her had just told her to stay, a feeling or a voice in her head. Besides, her flowers needed watering every now and again. What she didn't like was how mundane the task was. It gave her mind too much room to drift into dangerous directions, most of them related to her last adventure. There was worrying if and how the planets that had their eggs stolen were recovering. She certainly didn't want to think about all the friends who had lost their lives. For one because thinking about the fact that they were gone forever hurt, but also because it made her thoughts drift towards Tails current suffering. It was hard to watch, especially after having gotten small tastes of that suffering. Aurora, all the times that Sonic got hurt, almost killed - it still nearly gave her heart attacks just thinking about it. She didn't have any other explanation for the swelling in her chest …

Amy let out another heavy sigh. She shouldn't have stayed home today.

The stream from her watering can died down. The hedgehog shook it a few times, as to evaluate how empty it actually was, before deciding that yes, it needed to be refilled. She ended up never getting the extra water, as three figures coming out the forest distracted her. One of those figures was a very familiar shade of blue.

"SONIC!" Amy screeched overjoyed. Oh how glad she was that she had stayed home today!

She threw aside the watering can and ran towards her beloved hero, but slowed down when she saw who was walking next to him. On his left was a purple hedgehog she had never seen before, but far more important was the orange two tailed fox to his right. Tails had refused to leave his house for weeks. Her breath hitched and her eyes started to water. Not able to wait for them to come to her, she started running towards them again.

"No, no, no, no, Amy, don't …" Sonic started, already in dashing stance should she come a little too close for comfort, only to find himself stupefied when she rushed right past and threw her arms around his best friend.

Tails was as surprised as Sonic, standing stock still and trying to find out what exactly was happening.

"I'm so glad", Amy hiccuped. "You wouldn't see any of us - hic - and we were all so worried!"

Tails looked down to the ground and the two other hedgehogs could see the flicker of guilt in his eyes, just before he closed them and returned Amy's embrace.

"I'm sorry", he whispered.

Amy just shook her head as an answer and nuzzled her nose deeper into her friends neck. Sonic couldn't help but smile at the little scene. It helped to be reminded every now and again that there was more to Amy than just her obsession for him.

Amy was still sniffling when she pulled away, but a smile now adorned her face and the relief on it was evident. She took Tails's face into her hands and ever so gently rested her forehead against his.

"I knew it would be only a matter of time until Sonic got you back on your feet", she half-whispered, closing her eyes in contentment. "I'm just sorry I couldn't do more for you."

Tails thought about the many untouched pastries she had left on his door, and all the dinners she had prepared in worry he was not eating enough. He thought about the letters she had written him, all of which he had torn without ever even opening them. He thought about how his garden would sometimes look just a tad different and his flowers healthier when he went back to tend for them after his latest nap and the many, many other things she had done for him before finally giving up. Amy had done everything in her power and more. So Tails closed his eyes as well and pressed his forehead back just as gently, hoping dearly that this small little gesture of appreciation would be noticed.

Then Amy opened her eyes and smiled, turning to the blue hedgehog. "I guess I should have known that you're the only one who could help him, Sonic. You really are the best!"

"Thanks for the flowers, but that's not actually my handiwork."

Sonic scratched the back of his neck and looked behind him, where Violett had patiently observed the happenings. Amy eyed the purple hedgehog curiously. She was a bit taller than herself, probably older too. The unreadable look on her face was a bit off putting, but if she had helped Tails come out of his hole, then she had to be a good person.

"Hi, I'm Amy Rose", Amy smiled and held out her hand.

Violett looked at the outstretched hand, not really seeming to know what to do with it.

"Violett", the purple hedgehog answered and curtsied instead, a gesture which made Amy's eyes bulge in excitement

"Are you a princess?" she asked, looking straight at the tiara on Violett's head.

"No",

"But you _are_ a female hedgehog! I've never seen any other ones. Oh you _must_ come in for some tea!"

"I …"

"No 'but's! It's least I can do after you helped Tails. Come on!"

Violett was downright dumbfounded at the girl's enthusiasm. She didn't even have any time to protest before firm hands on her back were stubbornly pushing her towards the small house she lived in.

"Just to make this clear", Amy whispered into Violett's ear, " _I'm_ Sonic's girlfriend. He's taken, so don't try anything funny!"

Violett raised an eyebrow skeptically, being pretty sure that this 'relationship' was rather one-sided. Well, it wasn't like she was in any danger; a romance with anyone was the furthest thing on her mind. She had other things to worry about - like how to get to that dinner that the speedster promised. For the moment however, she was being pushed into the house and onto a surprisingly comfortable sofa. She wasn't entirely certain how to handle the overly enthusiastic girl, causing her to sit on the couch as still and stiff as a deer caught in headlights.

"Give me two minutes. I just dried some mint tea a few days ago. I'm sure you'll love it."

Violett opened her mouth to protest, but Amy was gone before she could even utter a word. Resigning to her fate, she instead decided to take on a slightly more refined - and comfortable - position on that sofa. Tails plopped down next to her and Sonic decided to lounge on the window sill next to the sofa.

"She's something, isn't she?" the blur laughed when he noticed Violett releasing a small sigh.

"Quite", was the flat answer he got. "She said her last name was Rose?"

"Yep", Sonic answered. "It's the only thing she knows about her family. All three of us have been orphans since long before we could remember."

"I see …"

There was no further inquiry, no 'I'm sorry', not even a flinch. Violett only looked at the hands folded in her lap, as if thinking about something and Sonic had to admit that he was curious as to what was going on in her mind. He had never met anyone quite as tight lipped and dismissive as her, and yet she had somehow managed to get through to Tails in what couldn't have been more than a twenty minute conversation.

"Here we go", Amy emerged out of the kitchen.

Careful not to spill anything; Amy made her way towards her small ensemble of couches and put the tablet down on the small living room table in the midst of said ensemble.

"I didn't know if you liked honey or sugar or both, so I just brought out everything. Oh, and I brought some home made biscuits too. I got the recipe from Vanilla, so they're bound to be good."

Amy seemed proud of her work and Violett had to admit that the tea smelled heavenly and the biscuits looked enticing. Over all, the entire put together of tea time looked like something out of a book. It was masterfully done. Perhaps Violett could enjoy some time at this girl's place after all.

"One spoonful of sugar and a small dash of milk please", Violett finally gave in to the flow.

"Yes ma'am! And two spoons of sugar no milk for you, right Tails?"

Tails nodded as Violett took her cup of tea out of Amy's had.

"Sonic?"

"I'm good, thanks."

The blue hedgehog was perfectly content bathing in the sun that shone on him through the window. He hadn't even opened his eyes when he had answered. Amy didn't seem to mind though, and happily poured a cup for herself after handing Tails his. She sat down on the couch and took a small sip of her tea. It was perfect. She then continued to reach for one of her biscuits, only to find that the bowl was already half empty, while Violett was nibbling on one. She straightened back up and giggled to herself; she had not expected such a quiet person to be a glutton.

"So where are you from?" Amy started a conversation.

"Far away", Violett answered vaguely in between biscuits.

"And what are you doing here? Did you move? Oh please say you're here to stay!" Amy was bouncing in her seat now.

"I'm here for business. I will make my stay as short as it can possibly be."

Amy's excitement dropped noticeably. "Oh … and where will you be going after?"

"Far away."

Amy's ears dropped. Was it at all possible to make small talk with this hedgehog? She heard Sonic snickered from his window sill and she shot him a dirty look to shut him up. It was effective.

"What kind of business are you here for?" Amy tried again.

At this Violett hesitated a bit, glancing over at Sonic. He had mentioned the queen of Mobius by name; as if familiar with her. Chances were high that all of these animas were familiar with them, so would it do any harm to tell them?

"I must retrieve an item from the royal family."

Amy stilled at this. The royal family included Sally and mention of her reminded Amy of the days when she and Sonic had been utterly and entirely enamored with each other. It wasn't like Amy couldn't understand why. Sally was nice and kind, firm if she had to be, intelligent and a natural leader, with a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes. She was as perfect as any mortal would ever be, her only real flaws being the pride that would sometimes take over, as well as occasional bouts of utter bitchiness if she had a bad day. And Sonic … well, he was Sonic, handsome and heroic and mysterious and so damn evasive. Amy would never blame anyone for falling for him. Sally had made him very happy, and happy was almost all she wanted her hero to be (happy with her would be the only better thing), but seeing him with someone else, no less someone whom she could never hate because she was an honest to Aurora good person, still hurt.

"What kind of item?"Amy asked, sipping her tea and no longer being really invested in the conversation.

"The sword of Acorns."

Amy and Tails both spit out their tea and Sonic fell from his sill.

"The sword of Acorns?" they all shouted in unison.

"You know of it?" Violett seemed honestly surprised, though not quite as much as the rest of the room. The three friends looked at each other, before Sonic picked himself off the floor and sat down next to Amy.

"The sword of Acorns is the royal family's most sacred treasure," Amy began, "It's as powerful as it is dangerous and only the successor to the throne can wield it", she wouldn't mention how the sword had allowed Sonic to wield it every now and again. "It's been in the hands of the Acorns for longer than this world has records of. It's said to have been made out of the fabric of the very universe, whatever that means, and that it has a mind of its own. Because of that, it will kill anyone who tries to wield it, if it feels merciful. Otherwise, it will take over your mind and body and turn you into its slave. And it has power far beyond what even the royal family knows."

"There's no way they will ever give you the sword. It's too important and you will never be able to wield it", Sonic finished and Tails nodded in agreement. "What do you need it for anyways?"

"I don't", Violett answered.

She continued to sip on her tea, ignoring the confused stares for quite a while. It wasn't until Sonic opened his mouth that she interrupted him with a small sigh and put down her tea.

"I wish to protect it", she explained.

Sonic's ears perked up and a small grin made its way to his face. "From what?" he asked.

"A magician."

"Come on, give us a bit more! Is he strong? Fast? Dangerous?"

Violett picked up her cup again and continued sipping. It had been a mistake to engage in conversation about her objective. Sonic was quite obviously an adrenaline chaser, looking for excitement and adventure. She would have a hard time convincing him that he would be in over his head. And she was certain that wherever Sonic would go, Amy would follow.

" _She_ is dangerous", Violett confirmed. "Too dangerous. And the less you know of her, the more likely you are to escape with your lives should you ever encounter her."

Sonic's grin got even wider, but Amy swallowed hard. She still had the 'adventure' with the Metarex fresh in her mind. People _had_ died during that adventure and those who hadn't had come a little too close for comfort. She would rather not relive those days.

"And you can protect it?" Tails asked, breaking his silence.

Violett froze for only a split second, but both, Tails and Sonic picked up on it. This girl, however composed and in control and strong and otherworldly she was presenting herself to be, was in dire straits.

"I've no choice", she said, eyes locked to her tea. "At the very least, I must try."

"We can help!" Sonic said excitedly.

The only thing this lead to was another sigh from Violett, a flinch from Tails and an angry outburst from Amy.

"We can NOT!" she screeched. "The last time we helped a stranger it nearly got us all killed, you especially! And Shadow and Cosmo …"

The pink hedgehog stopped in mid-rant, realizing what she was about to say and in front of _whom_ she was about to say it. She slowly turned her head to see if there was any saving, but the damage had been done. Next to Violett, Tails' empty cup was shaking in his hands and he was slowly curling in on himself. His breath was hitching, tears were gathering in his eyes, his ears were flat against his head, his two tails slowly wrapping around him like a protective barrier.

"I …" Amy reached out her hand, only to pull it back in. She had tried time and time again to get the young fox out of his shell the last few weeks, nothing had worked. No good words, no cooing, no gentle coercing, no hours of talking to a locked door, no fresh bouquet of flowers, no picnic invitations … nothing. She knew perfectly well that there was nothing she could say or do to help right now.

Violett, on the other hand, acted. As if about to accomplish an everyday, mundane task, she slowly put her now empty tea cup back on the table. Gently, she pried Tails' cup out of his hands and began petting his head with slow, gentle strokes.

"Breathe," was the only thing she said and Tails immediately made an effort to slow his breathing to the pace of Violett's caressing hand.

The longer this continued, the more Tails' shaking softened, until it was gone entirely. Once it was, he could feel Violett's fingers on his chin, gently commanding him to turn his face to her. There they were again, those misty blue eyes that were swirling with so much emotion. Tails relaxed almost immediately.

Feeling a lot better, though still in his curled up position, Tails leaned against Violett, finding comfort in her closeness for reasons that escaped him.

In front of them, Amy had taken to staring at the hands that were now in her lap and Sonic was longingly staring out the window. It tempted him to run away from this unsolvable problem, get some fresh air, make his blood pump through his system. But there was no way he would ever run from Tails.

"I'm sorry", Amy whispered.

Tails closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Unless you wish to lose any other friends, I suggest you not meddle any further. Amy?" Violett stood up abruptly, causing Amy to jump up as well. "Thank you for your hospitality. I must be on my way now."

The purple hedgehog strode towards the door, no sign of reluctance in her eyes. She was leaving and never returning to this odd bunch. After all, she had business to attend to. She made it all the way to the door, her hand almost on the doorknob when …

"What about dinner?" Sonic cried.

Violett's ears twitched and she froze. In her hesitation, the trio could almost see the inner battle she was fighting. She apparently lost it, because seconds later, she straightened herself slowly turned around face the trio. Sonic could have sworn he saw a small blush on her face.

"I suppose I could stay for dinner", she mumbled

* * *

"Mother, what is that?" a young Cream asked, pointing to the edge of the forest.

The mother rabbit stopped in her tracks to look towards the direction her daughter was pointing at, while a chao settled on top of the little rabbit's head. Quite a bit away, a dust cloud was forming, but from what was, at this point in time, uncertain.

"Hmm … my guess is as good as yours, dear", Vanilla answered.

Together, the trio continued staring towards the forest until they could finally make out what, or rather who, had created the dust cloud.

"CHAO!" the little chao cried and flew into the house as fast as he could.

"Oh my!" said Cream. "Looks like Sonic made Amy mad again."

Approaching fast was a blue hedgehog, looking profoundly distressed. Not too far behind was a rage induced pink hedgehog, swinging her hammer about wildly. Upon seeing this, Vanilla hastily secured the basket of apples that had been hanging on her arm. Not even twenty seconds later, Sonic had successfully hid behind Cream, his speed having brought a gust of unnatural wind with him.

"You have to help me Cream, you're the only one she listens to", Sonic pleaded.

"What did you do, Mr. Sonic?"

"Nothing mean, I swear. For some reason, she's just against me going on a new adventure."

This caught Cream's interest, but before she could say anything, Amy had reached them, hammer out and ready to be swung despite her heavy breathing. She looked positively livid and even Cream felt as if she was shrinking a few sizes in front of the enraged hedgehog.

"What's the matter, Sonic? Afraid of a little girl with a hammer?" she mocked. "How odd that you'd be so gung-ho about getting yourself killed when you can't even face me!"

Both rabbits and the blue hedgehog thought that would have been a really good argument if Amy wasn't so terrifying using that hammer of hers. If she were to ever get serious with it ...

"Amy, please calm down. I'm not sure what the situation is, but I'm certain that Mr. Sonic only had the very best of intentions."

Amy's murderous gaze turned to Cream and the little rabbit yelped at the intensity of it. For a few seconds, everybody froze, then Amy took a deep breath and finally relaxed. Her eyes drifted back to the blue hedgehog. There was a look on her face that Sonic very rarely saw, and it dawned on him that this was a little more serious than their usual 'why won't you marry me' squabbles.

"That's exactly the problem", Amy sighed in defeat.

During that little exchange, Violett and Tails had approached the house, walking at a leisurely pace. All eyes fell on them when they were close enough to capture attention and Sonic, assessing that he was no longer in danger of being squashed to death by an oversized hammer, turned to Vanilla.

"Are we in time for dinner?" he asked her.

"You're a little too soon", the grown rabbit answered with a smile, "but I could use some help. I was just about to make some apple pie for desert."

"Sweet", the blur exclaimed, continuing on when Violett and Tails had finally arrived at the house. "This is Violett. I promised her dinner as thanks for saving Tails from Eggman."

"Pleasure", Violett curtsied.

"No need for such formalities, dear. Any friend of Sonic's is a friend of ours. How are you in the kitchen?"

Violett blinked, a bit surprised by the question. It was certainly the last thing she had expected to be asked by anyone.

"I've never made an attempt at food, but I'm quite well versed at brewing magic potions", she answered.

Whatever answer Vanilla had expected, it was quite evident on her face that this was not it. Magic potions? Was she talking to a witch? Did such creatures even exist? Certainly, she had seen much in her life, but never had anything downright classified as magic.

"I … suppose that will do", Vanilla caught herself. "Then why don't you help me in the kitchen? Cream dear, Amy, I could use your help too. Tails, Sonic, would you mind putting up tables and chairs outside? It's such a lovely day, it would be a shame to spend it in the house."

"Yes ma'am", Sonic grinned and with a thankful smile, the women headed inside. Sonic could make out Cream asking if Violett was a princess, which was answered with the usual flat 'no', as well as Amy's mood going up when she found Cheese inside the house _(there you are Cheese, I was wondering where you went)._

Once they were out of sight, Sonic and Tails went to work, and two tables and six chairs were put up within minutes, as well as a large umbrella for some shade. Sonic also volunteered to put up china and silverware and soon, everything was nicely put up for supper. The meal itself took a bit longer and so, Sonic and Tails relaxed in the sun for a while.

"How you're doing, bro?" Sonic asked.

"I ... don't really know", he answered.

"That's fair, I guess. A lot's happened today, especially for you."

Tails didn't answer and Sonic didn't press any further. Leaving his home was a step in the right direction, but his brother's silence and his constant downward cast eyes were a constant reminder that he was far from being okay. It would be best not to press, not after all the pressing he's done so far had only served to push Tails away even further.

A few minutes later, Violett emerged from the kitchen with some beverages. While the two boys didn't budge, she herself sat down and allowed herself a drink. Her role in the kitchen was over and much like Sonic and Tails, she now had time to relax. Soon after, Amy appeared, also done in the kitchen, opting to lay down in the grass next to Sonic and enjoy the sun. Last but not least, Vanilla, Cream and Cheese came from the kitchen, bowls and platters in their hands and the scent of the food drew the three sunbathers towards the dining table. Vanilla had made fried salmon drenched in lemon with noodles and rice as sides and a buttery sauce with it. Two apple pies were currently getting ready in the oven.

"Please, help yourself", Vanilla gestured towards the food when she saw how wide Violett's eyes had gotten (and how the drool didn't quite manage to stay in her mouth).

Not needing to be told twice, the crew dived for the salmon. It was a good thing she had decided on two apple pies, as all her food was gone in a matter of minutes. She could have sworn she had made enough for at least ten people (she did enjoy making small meals out of leftovers whenever someone came to visit, though a group like today's deserved something fresh), and yet, both full sized apple pies had also somehow managed to disappear from the table entirely.

"May I ask", Cream started, Cheese resting on her head, "why were you two fighting earlier? It seemed … different than usual."

Sonic and Amy looked at each other, knowing perfectly well that they were the ones who were addressed, before Amy huffed and turned her head away in displeasure.

"Well you see, Violett here", Sonic gestured at the magician sitting next to Tails, "is on a quest. I was saying we should help, but Amy's strictly against it."

How odd. Amy was known for getting mad over trivial things and if anything, she would have gotten mad over Sonic going on an adventure and not taking her with him, but even for her, this was a new low. Adventure was basically Sonic's middle name, he went on them all the time and Amy had never seemed bothered by it. What was different now?

"Ms. Violett, what do you think of Mr. Sonic's proposal?" Cream asked the purple hedgehog next to her.

"Rejected."

Sonic let out a deep sigh and Amy a victorious smirk. Not having expected such a blunt refusal, Cream and Cheese shot a quizzical look towards Tails, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"She doesn't want anyone killed", he said.

"Your quest is that dangerous?" Cream exclaimed. "Then why do you go on it alone? Won't it be less dangerous if you had help?"

"I must agree with my daughter", Vanilla added. "Surely, some qualified assistance would lower the risks of … well … 'getting anyone killed', as Tails so wonderfully put it."

"Are you guys serious? You're trying to convince her to let Sonic go on a suicide mission with her. I will NOT allow that!"

"No, no!" Cream shook her head so wildly that Cheese fell of it with a small cry. The little rabbit caught her Chao just in time and with a small apology, set him down on the table. "You misunderstand, Amy. We were just saying that maybe it's dangerous to go alone."

"And of course Sonic should be the one to go with her, isn't that right?"

"Amy …"

While Cream continued her best to calm the upset female, Violett had put down her drink, staring at it with unfocused eyes that betrayed that she was lost in thoughts.

"Qualified assistance …" she muttered to herself, her voice being drowned in Amy's loud protests.

"Amy dear, I very much understand how you feel, but you're being unreasonable", Vanilla cut in.

Her usual motherly smile was gone, a clear indicator that she was not to be messed with unless you wanted the upcoming scolding to be even harsher. Amy promptly sat back down and shut her mouth.

"Have either Cream, Cheese or me explicitly stated that we want Sonic to accompany Violett?" she asked.

"... no."

"Then do not accuse us of saying or doing things you know perfectly well we didn't do. Neither your temper, nor your passion, nor any of your good will are excuses to unfairly lash out at someone. Do you understand?"

"... yes ma'am."

"As for your problem, I understand that you're only trying to protect Sonic, but his decisions are his to make, not yours."

"And there you have it", Sonic grinned, only to be met with a glare from Amy that instantly wiped it off his face.

"As for you Sonic!"

The hedgehog in question immediately stiffened.

"You cannot honestly believe that any decision you make, including going on a new adventure, will affect only you. Take into account the influence you have when making decisions. If you leave, you most likely will not leave alone and anything that happens from thereon out will be your responsibility. Therefore, if someone as close to you as Amy thinks that your idea is not a good one, then it is your duty to at least take that into consideration."

Sonic pouted, but did not answer otherwise.

"You heard her", Amy smiled triumphantly.

"And you didn't", Sonic shot back. "She said to think about the people who get roped up in my adventures all the time. Now who does that include, huh?"

"Amy, Cream, Cheese, Knuckles, Rouge, me and sometimes the chaotix", Tails mumbled.

Understanding where this was going, Amy clenched her teeth and her face started turning red in anger.

"That means they ALL get to speak. I say we do a majority vote, fair and square. What do you think?"

Amy clenched her fists.

"That sounds reasonable", Vanilla smiled and Cream and Cheese nodded enthusiastically.

Amy began to growl.

"Okay", Tails muttered.

Amy's face got even redder.

"Qualified assistance", Violett thought out loud again.

"Alright FINE!" Amy's shout pulled the purple hedgehog out her thoughts. "But if the majority says no, you're dropping the subject, or else your face says hello to my hammer!"

"Noted", Sonic agreed, trying to shuffle away. It was never pleasant to be nose to nose with an angry Amy.

"Cream, you contact the others. Tell them to meet up on Angel Island in a half hour. Sonic and I will help Vanilla clean up."

Sonic gulped heavily, but didn't dare go against the pink hedgehog's orders. With a 'thank you' from Vanilla, the two started stacking up dishes, before disappearing into the house.

The entire time, Sonic could feel Amy's angry glare on his back and understood that the reason she had singled the two of them out to clean up was because she wanted to talk about this in private. He let out a long sigh and stopped in his tracks before they left the house for the next stack of dishes.

"Spill it Amy, what is this really about?"

"It's just as I said. I don't agree with you getting yourself killed."

"Yeah, right! I'm not buying that. You might be overly clingy and a crazy fangirl and annoying and a bit of a stalker .."

"The point?"

"The point is, you're not one to say no to an adventure, let alone one to keep me from one."

"That was before the Metarex."

"What do the Metarex have to do with any of this?"

"EVERYTHING", Amy screeched, running out of whatever patience she had left. "You", she cried, her index finger pushing against Sonic's chest, "were always out there, risking your life playing hero. You have absolutely no idea how the rest of us feel, watching you getting beaten up. You have no idea how I felt every single time I had to patch you back up, how hard it is to see you hurt. There were so many times I thought you'd gotten yourself into a situation you'd never get out of alive." Her eyes were cast down now, her shoulders shaking and her hands clenched to fists. "If you get hurt again … or worse … I wouldn't know what to do …"

Ah. There it was again, the tightness in her chest. Just thinking of Sonic getting hurt made it hard to breathe, all while making her strangely lightheaded. And what was worse was that this time, it was happening right in front of the person in question, which seemed to magnify the effects, all while making her entire face heat up uncomfortably. It was suffocating.

So how did his hand on her head make it seem pleasant?

"Don't worry", Sonic smiled down on her. "I'll just make extra sure not to get hurt."

Amy closed her eyes and gave in. It was such a Sonic thing to say, and she was certain that not long ago, these words alone would have calmed all her worries. Now however, she just clasped her hands together, praying that Sonic would be fine as he walked away from her. He wanted action, who was she to deny him this?

Head hanging low, she slowly trotted after the blur.

* * *

 **Hello again. Yes it's been a while, yes this fic is updating slowly, yes I did warn you about this last chapter and no, that's not gonna change. I wanna take this little section here to thank my two reviews; NeckBreak and Goku the Carrot. Also, the biggest of thanks to Alysa, my faithful beta-reader who never goes easy on me and to anyone who favorited and followed Limits.**

 **Other than that, there's not much to say. I've started working on a huge original project, that I might tell you more of next time I post since it's only in the beginning stages. Since it directly helps me with improving at university (I'm an animation student, if anyone's intersted), it WILL take priority. Fear not, though. Chapter three IS in the works, though it may take a while since Alyse pointed out quite a few fundamental flaws that will need fixing. Don't worry about Limits being abandoned, though. 9 chapters are written at this point, chapter 10 is in process. Once again, if you want to know what happens next, go to my page and read "Dimensional Travels", the OG version of it (disclaimer; it's awful).**

 **Please review. They are the life and blood of us authors.** **Constructive criticism is especially welcome, questions will be answered next chapter so long as there are no spoiler and flames** will **be ignored. Thank you so much for tuning in, a HUGE thank to Alysa and I'll see you all next chapter.**

 _ **Preview:**_

 _ **"Wait a minute", Amy thought out loud. "If the Master Emerald is whole again, shouldn't that mean that Angel Island should be lifted back up into the sky?"**_

 _ **Everybody who was not disoriented looked at Amy as if she had just prophesied the apocalypse.**_

 _ **"Oh oh", said Sonic.**_


	3. The Mystery that is the Master Emerald

_._

 _On a mission nowhere bound_

 _Inhibitions underground_

 _A shallow grave_

 _I have dug all by myself_

* * *

 **Chapter Three: The Mystery that is the Master Emerald**

Nothing about Angel Island lived up to its name these days. It wasn't even an island anymore, having fallen perfectly into the crater it had created last time it had fallen from the sky. That, however, was no reason for the islands guardian to leave its borders. He stayed where he was, seldom allowing his eyes to leave the shattered fragments of the Master Emerald. He certainly didn't allow a single shard out of his sight when a certain jewel obsessed bat was around… like today ... like right now.

"Why exactly are you here?" Knuckles asked.

The question was rhetorical. He knew perfectly well that Cream had requested a get together. Something about another hedgehog and a mission or something … He glared at the bat by his side, who was sifting through the shards.

"Helping," she murmured absent-mindedly as she picked up first one piece, then another, always so carefully, almost reverently, replacing each fragment back to how Knuckles had arranged it.

Knuckles scoffed. As if he didn't know better.

"Scoff all you want."

She held a particularly large shard up to the sun, but her out of the corners of her eyes, she was looking and _smiling_ at him.

"I know perfectly well how much you enjoy spending time with me. After all, you and I are drawn to each other like bees to a flower."

She was teasing. He knew she was teasing. She was always teasing and he was always blushing. He hated these stupid blushes, especially when it was so obvious that the only thing on that thieving bat's mind were jewels. He growled at her and swiped the shard out of her hand. A blue blur and the following gust of unnatural wind made Knuckles swallow whatever words he was about to say.

"Hey guys", Sonic greeted cheerily.

"About time", Knuckles huffed. "Where's the rest?"

"On their way. I'm here to give you the update."

Sonic began retelling what happened several hours prior, starting when Sonic and Violett saved Tails from Eggman. He was just about to get into _why_ they needed Knuckles' help when they both noticed something glowing. All three stared on as the Master Emerald slowly began to glow. Despite the fact that Knuckles had said it would be only a matter of time until it would regain its power and return to its original state, absolutely nothing had happened since it broke. Was it purely a coincidence that it was repairing itself now of all times?

There was the unmistakable sound of large, flapping wings that grabbed everyone's attention. Violett flew into sight with a set of beautiful white wings on her back, landing gracefully in front of the small group of friends. Her eyes and ring were glowing and her spines and dress fluttering despite the lack of wind in the area. She wasn't even noticing them, as she slowly strode towards the Master Emeralds altar.

Tails and Cream flew in shortly after, visibly out of breath, followed closely by Amy, who collapsed to her knees the moment she had caught up with them.

"She just suddenly ran off,'' she huffed. "One moment, she was perfectly normal and then the next, she stopped and her eyes started getting all glowy and she grew wings and .."

She stopped when he noticed what was happening to the Master Emerald. A small 'what the' formed on her lips, though the words never left her mouth. Violett made it only to the first step, before Knuckles had placed himself in front of her, arms crossed and, from what the others could make out, very angry.

"What are you doing to the Master Emerald?" he demanded.

Violett didn't answer. She wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the shards that laid behind him. He got even angrier, but before he could say anything, Violett jumped over him. It was a movement so graceful and effortless and unexpected that it left Knuckles stunned for a moment. Then he caught himself and whirled around, grabbing the purple hedgehog by the shoulder and forcefully turning her towards him.

"Don't ignore me!" Knuckles yelled again.

Whether it was the contact or the words, it seemed to have an effect. Violett's hair and dress stopped fluttering and her eyes stopped glowing. However, so did the Master Emerald shards. Violett's eyes came back into focus and immediately narrowed in on Knuckles.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Knuckles, guardian of the Master Emerald. You are Violett?"

The hedgehog in question gave a slight nod, but her eyes almost immediately returned to the top of the shrine.

"That is the Master Emerald?"

"What's left of it. What were you doing to it?"

"Is it magical?" .

"Of course it is, now answer my question!"

"Master Emerald …" she mumbled. "I've never heard of such an artifact. Yet, it seems somehow …", her eyes started glowing again "... familiar."

Being downright pissed now, Knuckles grabbed her by one of her spines and hurled her down the few steps to the altar she had managed to take. Once more, her eyes stopped glowing, just in time to twist and land on her feet. When she looked up at Knuckles, nothing visible about her had changed, yet the temperature around her seemed to have dropped.

"I don't appreciate being thrown around,'' she said, perhaps just a little too calmly.

"Well I don't appreciate the Master Emerald being tampered with", Knuckles retorted.

There was a bit of silence in which hedgehog and echidna were staring each other down and for a moment it seemed as if a fight was about to commence. That moment ended when Violett's attention was grabbed by Cream and Cheese, who were tugging on her sleeve.

"Please don't fight with Mr. Knuckles", she said. "He's our friend."

"He's just a bit rough around the edges" Sonic said, lazily putting a hand on the echidnas shoulder.

"A hothead, if you will,'' Rouge joined in, putting her hand on Knuckles other shoulder.

"And an idiot to boot", Sonic snickered, earning an offended 'HEY' by the echidna in question.

"I don't care what he is", Violett answered coldly, while her eyes began to glow again. "He's in my way. Move!"

"You little ...", Knuckles started, but Sonic stopped him.

"We should see what she's up to,'' he whispered to the enraged echidna.

"WHAT? Are you crazy? You only met this woman today, how could you possibly trust her with the Master Emerald? That's it, you've officially lost all your marbles. Probably landed on your head one time too many."

"I think he's right, though", Rouge thought out loud.

"Not you too", Knuckles groaned. "You can at least fly, so you should not have landed on your head often enough to …"

"Shut up and listen!" Her words were accentuated by a punch on the head. "You kept asking her what she is doing to the Master Emerald, but it looks like _it_ could be doing things to _her._ "

The three of them looked up to the top of the shrine, where they could see a glow. Knuckles turned back to the female hedgehog at the bottom of the stairs, whose clothes and spines were fluttering about again. Begrudgingly, Knuckles hopped off, followed by Sonic, while Rouge jumped down the other side, freeing the way for the Master Emerald and hedgehog magician to finally interact.

Slowly, but with a presence and certainty that was downright intimidating, Violett walked up the stairs to the top of the altar. The closer she got the Emerald shards, the brighter they shined. When she reached the top of the stairs, Knuckles collapsed to his knees, hugging himself tightly and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, kneeling down beside him.

"The Emerald", Knuckles panted, "I've never felt it like this."

Violett too, got on her knees in front of the Emerald shards. All it took was one small touch for it to react. First, Violett's pupils and irises disappeared, leaving her eyes completely white. In response, the Emerald shined brighter. Small ropes of light emerged from it, dancing around Violett, seemingly lifting her up until her toes barely scraped the ground. Yet, the touch from that light was tender, as if they were greeting an old friend, though steadily getting brighter. Finally, the Emerald shone so bright that all onlookers had to look away as to not get blinded.

Seconds later, the light subsided. Slowly but surely, one after another opened their eyes. On top of the altar, they could still see Violett hanging just above the floor, eyes closed and lips slightly apart. The ropes of light were slowly retreating back into the now whole Master Emerald, which was still faintly glowing. Then, the ropes were all gone. And as if a switch had been turned, Knuckles and Violett collapsed.

Immediately, Tails and Cream rushed to Violett's side, while Amy and Rouge joined Sonic's attempt to help Knuckles back on his feet. None of the two had completely fainted, but both were seriously weak and severely disoriented.

"What just happened?" Sonic asked, struggling to keep Knuckles on his feet, something that was easier said than done when he seemed to think the ground was the sky.

"It appears the Master Emerald is whole again,'' Cream answered from the top of the shrine.

Violett recovered slightly faster than Knuckles, managing to stand with aid, although her glossy eyes betrayed that she was still barely conscious.

"Wait a minute,'' Amy thought out loud. "If the Master Emerald is whole again, shouldn't that mean that Angel Island should be lifted back up into the sky?"

Everybody who was not disoriented looked at Amy as if she had just prophesied the apocalypse.

"Uh oh,'' said Sonic.

As if on cue, the ground started to shake violently, causing all six animas to fall.

"Hold on to something!' Sonic cried.

He himself was holding on to the edge of the stairs, with one arm tightly secured around his red friend. Rouge followed his example while Amy slammed her hammer deep enough into the ground for it to stick and hung on to that. Tails and Cream had a harder time finding something to hold on to and nearly rolled off the altar as the ground shook more and more violently. They only managed when Tails basically threw Violett over the edge of the altar, where Amy caught her. Then, Cream grabbed Tails and followed suit, hanging on to Amy and her hammer for dear life when the shaking was at its worst.

The shaking became weaker as the Island slowly lifted off the ground, and stopped when it was entirely afloat. Everybody sans Violett and Knuckles exhaled deeply and allowed themselves to relax. Moments later, everybody was laying in the grass, recovering from the miniature earthquake. The two who had been affected by the Master Emeralds recovery were still not quite back, as was evident in Knuckles constantly falling over when put upright and Violett's glossy stares into the void. Slowly but surely, as Angel Island rose, they were both getting better and while Knuckles was constantly stumbling over his own tongue in attempts to speak, Violett finally seemed to start thinking again.

"What happened?" she asked.

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge and Cream shot her wide smiles and even Knuckles gave her a very lopsided grin.

"You just put Angel Island back where it belongs!"

"Where it belongs?"

"You know, there's a reason why the Island has its name" Sonic explained, "After all, it's supposed to be a small patch of earth, divided from the rest of the planet. A place that only Angels can reach."

He grinned and pointed his index fingers upwards. "The sky."

It took a moment, but once his words registered, Violetts eyes got wide.

* * *

"This Island has been in the sky for millennia The power of the Master Emerald keeps it afloat. It's a safety mechanism, to hide itself from the people who would abuse it, and to protect its guardian from the poisonous influences of the outside world. But if, for whatever reason, the power of the Master Emerald leaves the Island, be it because it was taken away or because it shattered, the Island will fall from the sky until the Master Emeralds power returns."

Violett didn't answer, opting to continue dangling her legs over the Island's edge instead. Her gaze was locked to the ground far below, perfectly neutral as always. Her silence alone gave away that she was thinking. What exactly she was thinking about, however, was a mystery to everyone involved. Although perhaps, if Knuckles had not been an echidna of very little brain, he could have guessed that her thoughts revolved around the Emerald, the incident with it and of possible ways on how to find out what had happened.

"Qualified assistance …", Violett muttered, a thought beginning to run wild in her head.

"Were you listening?" the echidna barked at her.

"Yes", Violett answered.

So she said, although her neverending stare at the planet below made Knuckles doubt it.

The last few hours had been spent in relative confusion. It had taken a while for Knuckles and Violett to come back to themselves. After they had, Violett had tried multiple times to approach the Master Emerald, in attempts to analyze and understand it. Knuckles, stubborn as he was, had denied her access every time. Before long, Violett had stopped her attempts, allowing everyone to recover from the shock and calm down a bit.

"So what happened between you and the Master Emerald?", Sonic chimed in, "I mean, why was it only putting itself together when you appeared? I would ask what you did, but it almost seemed like it was controlling you."

Violett refused to answer, leaving everyone in a long and heavy silence. It grew ever and ever longer and Knuckles would have exploded, if Rouge had not placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned to yell at her instead, only to swallow whatever he was about to say when he saw the look on her face. It was a mix of confusion, suspicion, doubt and worry and the way her eyes kept darting around told him her mind was racing at a million miles an hour. He looked around, only to see similar looks on the faces of all his friends. Violett was still staring at the planet. Even for someone as aloof as her, that kind of behavior had to be strange.

Suddenly it hit him; Violett had no idea why this had happened either. Which meant she had no clue how to deal with it.

"The Chaos Emeralds are on this planet, aren't they?" she finally asked the group.

Everybody nodded, not even bothering to question at this point, how she would know such a thing.

"Who is their guardian?"

All six animas and a small chao exchanged glances, before Amy answered.

"That would probably be the Master Emerald."

There was another long moment of silence in which Violett continued to look down to the planet in fascination.

"Many years ago", Violett started "my family were the guardians of the Chaos Emeralds and our connection to them never entirely severed. We can feel when they are close by, utilize their strength when in our hands and unleash power that is far greater than the sum of its parts when all seven of them are gathered together. Perhaps that connection is passed on to the Master Emerald."

Knuckles hummed. It was a solid explanation and he was inclined to believe it, considering what he'd seen both Shadow and Sonic do with them in the past. Perhaps he'd be a bit friendlier towards the newcomer if she hadn't just dropped information about the Master Emerald on him that he hadn't previously known. And after the episode with Chaos, Tikal and the ancient echidna tribe, he couldn't help but to start wondering what else there was that he didn't know.

"Sonic can do all that,'' Amy said. "Except for the 'feeling when they are close' part. He can use Chaos Control and become Super Sonic when he has all seven."

Violett was the only one whose eyes didn't slowly widen in realisation. Even Amy herself took a minute to understand what her words were implying. But of course, once again, Knuckles was the only one who was out of the loop.

"What?" he asked into the round. "Why does everyone have a face like they just saw a ghost?"

The question was left unanswered. Having fully recovered, Violett got to her feet and dusted off her dress. It was a movement with so much finality to it that Knuckles forgot what she had actually come here for and almost said his goodbyes.

"Thank you for dinner." Violett made a quick curtsy towards Cream and Cheese. "I must go now."

"Wait!"

A small twitch of the eye was the only thing that gave away Violett's annoyance. Knuckles couldn't blame her. Sonic was a persistent pain in the ass when he wanted something. Knuckles could only imagine how many times she had tried to shake him off already.

"We didn't do what we came here for", Sonic said.

Violett crossed her arms and gave Sonic an expecting, albeit critical look. It was all the confirmation he needed.

"Okay, so everyone's up to date on the intel,'' he said, turning to Rouge and Knuckles. "At this point, Amy and Violett are against us joining, I am for it and Tails, Cream and Cheese haven't made their stance clear yet. So let's vote; who wants to go on an adventure?"

Five hands shot into the air. There was Sonic, of course, as well as Cream and Cheese (why did a Chao's vote even count?), Knuckles and Tails.

Amy grit her teeth angrily and after sharing a quick glance with Sonic, huffed and looked away. Other than that, there was no protest as she respected the majority, a stance Violett clearly did not share.

"Absolutely not!" She said. "You and I are acquaintances at best and you have no say in what I do with my mission. I and I alone decide who may accompany me!"

"I thought we were already friends..."Tails murmured quietly.

Violett hesitated and her face softened a bit. Knuckles and Rouge looked on with interest. Sonic _had_ mentioned that she had managed to lure Tails out of his isolation somehow. Maybe she wasn't as bad as her first impression had made her out to be.

After a small moment of silence, Violett sighed deeply

"You are not wrong" she answered the young fox. "I spoke too rashly."

"I think we voted too rashly", Rouge chimed in. "We all know what we're capable off, so why don't you tell us what your goal is and then we'll decide whether or not we want to help. And if we do, then we'll simply prove to you that we're worthy, oh great magician."

Violett sighed again, but pulled off her ring anyway and held it out her palm. Over it, a mighty diadem appeared, hovering above her open palm. It looked heavy, expensive, and most importantly, otherworldly, not unlike the Sword of Acorns.

"This", Violett started, "is what is generally referred to as a Barrier Key. There are twelve of them in total and the Sword of Acorns is one of them. A very powerful mage is after them and the more she gathers, the more powerful she gets."

"What does she want with them?" Rouge asked.

"Something very dangerous, very desperate and very stupid."

Dangerous, desperate and stupid were a horrifying combination. After all, it had applied to the Metarex and that almost cost all of them their home. Some wounds from that adventure were still too fresh to make Knuckles hungry for another, but he was one of the idiots who lived in this world. He'd rather not have it destroyed by dangerous people doing dangerous, desperate and stupid things anytime soon.

"Can't you give us a little more than this?" Rouge continued. "You're the one we're trying to help here, you know. It wouldn't hurt to make your case a little clearer."

"I never asked for help", Violett retorted, "Sonic is the one who is insistent on all of you coming along. Therefore he is the one you may argue with."

That was exactly what Rouge planned on doing. Her eyes shifted towards him and he cocked an eyebrow in expectation. She earned an exasperated sigh from Sonic for that.

"There's someone trying to misuse the sword of acorns", he began. "That thing is more dangerous than the Metarex ever were. And apparently, there are twelve of them…

He then turned to Violett, "You said you had no choice but to protect those barrier keys. Plus, you didn't exactly sell yourself as the surefire winner back at Amy' place."

Violett's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I'm not. And that won't change, whether you come along or not."

Sonic facepalmed. "Can't you be a little more cooperative? I'm trying to make a point here!"

The air around Violett grew colder. "I don't want you coming along, I don't want your help and I don't want your sympathies", her voice bordered on a hiss. "So give me one single reason why I should cooperate with you!"

Sonic grit his teeth, visibly frustrated. "Because not too long ago,we busted our butts saving the universe, lost two friends in the process and I don't think any of us came out of that the same as they were before." He turned to his friends. "If we don't do something, all of that will go to waste. Are you trying to tell me you're cool with that?"

Rouge couldn't find an answer to that. Neither did Knuckles, or Amy, or anyone else for that matter. Even Violett had to begrudgingly admit that Sonic's argument was solid.

"I guess I have no choice but to join, then", Rouge sighed, though the small, exasperated smile on her face was undeniable. "With all this testosterone around, you'll need some glamour."

Violett shook her head in defeat, before looking at Knuckles. "You may come", she said, momentarily stupefying everyone else.

Nobody had expected Knuckles to be her first choice Then, she walked over to Sonic, put her hand on his head and closed her eyes. His body started to tingle in the strangest way, and he had to fight the urge to shake Violett's hand off. Thankfully, the moment didn't last too long and Violett removed her hand and opened her eyes.

"You may come as well."

Sonic gave a huge grin and punched the air a few times, "Just try and stop me!"

"If Sonic is going, then I am going too!" said Amy.

"You may come." Violett hadn't even bothered looking at her.

She walked over to Rouge, who held up her hand own hand in protest, "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you have what it takes to survive," Violett answered evenly, "

Rouge stared at the hand for a moment, still confused, but ultimately gave in and let Violett do as she pleased. The hedgheog in question put her hand on Rouge's forehead, only to retract it so suddenly, one might think she had burnt herself. Violett frowned and thought for a bit.

"You may come", she finally said.

She repeated the process with Cream, Cheese and Tails and denied all three of them their offer of companionship lest they prove their worth before she departed.

"You must know", the purple hedgehog announced after every teammate had been evaluated, "that I am capable of using the Barrier Keys, but my ability to control them is limited. I can control what dimension we enter and what day we enter it. I am, however, incapable of controlling the exact location and have no way of safely transporting you all through space. Offer me a solution, or stay here."

All heads turned to Tails, who, in turn,stared at the ground, refusing to meet anybody's eye. He could feel Violett's questing gaze on him, but so long as he didn't meet it, he'd have control over his mouth.

"Tomorrow I will retrieve the Sword of Acorns. If you have not provided a solution by then, I will leave without you."

She turned and jumped off the cliff. For a moment, everybody watched in shock, but then a pair of large white wings grew on the magicians back and she soared off into the sunset.

There was a moment of silence.

"Not the most pleasant woman, is she?", Knuckles grunted.

* * *

 **This chapter was difficult. Like, it was really, really freaking difficult. Poor Alysa really needed the patience of an angel to work with me on that one. Am I ever so glad that she had it. It was difficult to write from the get go, but then editing and rewriting was even harder. It was littered in problems, most of them stemming from me trying desperately to find a balance between giving keeping the exposition under control and having the entire thing make any freaking sense. It was soooooo difficult.**

 **BUT! It is now up and approved and leagues better than it was at first. Chapter 4 was easier to write and will hopefully be easier to edit, so the wait for the next chapter shouldn't take as long. It also helps that I'm on summer holidays, so I have more time to work. Chapter 10 is written, chapter 11 is in the works and as always, if you're impatient and want to know what happens next, go check out "Dimensional Travels". You can find it on my fb page.**

 **Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed, a huge thank you to my trusty beta-reader Alysa and another huge thank you to Goku the Carrot, who's been leaving comments on both chapters so far. Please, continue to comment and to all you new-commers, please comment as well. They're a writers life-blood. Constructive criticism is especially welcome, questions will be answered next chapter so long as there are no spoilers and flames will be ignored. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you all next chapter**

 ** _Preview:_**

 ** _"I am Violett Ocean, of the Hedgehog Empire", the hedgehog in question introduced herself with her usual small curtsy._**

 ** _Sally's composure vanished immediately. Her eyes went wide, her cheeks flushed an even darker shade of pink and Sonic could actually see her breath hitching in her throat. Then, she did something Sonic, in all of his years of knowing her, had never done before; she lowered her head and curtsied as deep as she possibly could._ **


	4. Daughter of Saladiel

.  
 _Do it for your people, do it for your pride_

 _How're you ever gonna know, if you never even try_

 _Do it for your country, do it for your name_

 _Cause there's gonna be a day when you're standing in the hall of fame_

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Daughter of Saladiel**

Violett kept her cool … somehow. Sonic the hedgehog, he called himself. Sonic the hero, she'd heard others refer to him. Sonic the insufferable was more accurate. Even when actually fulfilling her mission of retrieving the Sword of Acorns, he simply refused to let her be. She was perfectly capable of walking to Castle Acorn by herself, thank you very much.

"... so yeah, that's how the Sword of Acorns came into existence."

"Of course it is", Violett answered flatly.

Legends always have a true core. Sometimes that core is bigger, sometimes it's smaller. In this particular case, it was smaller. At the very least, Violett got to learn a bit about the lore of this kingdom and learning was something she always enjoyed.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

"No."

Mad, not so much. Annoyed, definitely. But he already seemed to have a good idea about that anyway. In a few hours, she'd be gone and would not have to deal with Sonic the Hedgehog for a long time.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

She hoped, at least, _prayed,_ she wouldn't have to deal with him for a long time. At least he was silent for a bit, with emphasis on the 'bit'.

"You know, I couldn't help but notice you and Tails getting along well yesterday."

Ah, so that's what this was about. Violett could feel herself soften almost immediately. Once she was gone, he'd be left to tend to Tails and it appeared that so far, he hadn't gotten through to the young fox. Sonic was sticking to Violett because her presence was good for Tails. He wanted everyone to come along for her ride because it would distract them from the recent tragedy. If Sonic was constantly surrounded by adventure, a new adventure would put some normalcy into everyone's lives. It would satisfy Sonic's taste for action, it would give all of his friends a distraction, but most importantly, it would heal his little brother. The magician frowned. How had she not figured this out earlier? Was there anything else she had somehow missed?

"You two are close?" she asked and Sonic seemed delighted to finally have her engage in conversation.

"We're brothers, him and I,'' he grinned.

Violett raised an eyebrow.

"Well, not blood brothers. I told you yesterday, we don't know anything about our families, if we even have one at all. But Tails and I, we've always been together, going on mad adventures and watching each others backs. We're brothers in heart!"

Violett hummed in response. She had noticed that the two were closer than your average best friends, now she knew the extent of their relationship. From the side of her eye, she could see the face of the blur drop and she sharpened her ears. This was about to get important.

"How much did he tell you?" she didn't have to ask about what.

"Enough to have an idea on what happened."

"Do you know her name?"

Violett shook her head.

"It was Cosmo. I'm pretty sure she was his first love."

Violett knew that she had been more than that, but the workings behind the concept of soulmates was not something Sonic understood quite yet, so she kept quiet.

"When she died, I was there, fighting on the frontlines. I should have saved her. I knew I could have if I'd tried a little harder .. but I didn't. And I let him down. I failed him."

So it happened in a battle. Well, there were always casualties in a war, a fact Violett was painfully aware of. Not that this made it any easier on anyone.

"Tails blames me. Of course he does, I was supposed to be his hero", he was spouting bullocks now, that much she knew. Sadly, he seemed to believe it. "That's why he won't open up or talk to me. But you! He talks to you, he opens up to you, he comes to you for comfort. I have no idea how you did it, but you can't just go and leave him behind now!"

That was exactly what she was going to do. Not that she was looking forward to it, she liked the little kitsune. But no matter what she did, he would never be the same again. Her staying or leaving only made a difference in his possible recovery time.

"Tails built a spaceship!"

"What?" Violett stopped in her tracks. She was certain she hadn't heard right.

"You heard me!" Sonic stared her down, his gaze strong and unyielding. There had been no mistake in his words. He was determined not to let her leave without them, a fact she would have easily picked up on if her mind could wrap itself around the fact that Tails had built an entire spaceship.

"How old did you say he was?" Violett asked.

"He just turned nine a few days ago."

There was a moment of silence that Violett apparently needed to digest this information. He gave it to her, patiently awaiting her response. When she finally answered, her voice was quiet and seemed a lot more … mortal.

"He's a natural", she said.

"Sure is. But right now, he refuses …"

"... to touch his machines. All because he fired the shot."

"That's pretty much how it is."

After another short moment, Violett composed herself again and continued walking. Castle Acorn was already in sight.

"So will you help him? If you can get him to fix up his spaceship a bit, we have the solution you want."

As ever so often, Violett didn't answer. She didn't have to. If there was ever a facial expression that embodied the word 'no', Violett currently wore it. All Sonic could do was smile and shake his head, before looking up at the clouds. What did he have to do to convince that hedgehog?

* * *

Acorn castle was an impressive castle only to Mobius, where buildings were small and homey and nature was largely untouched. Having been to Earth, Sonic and his friends had seen far more impressive buildings, and so had Violett. With it's three stories (albeit each one being rather high), it's green terrasses and the waterfalls comin from its first floor, it fit perfectly into the kingdom it represented. The two hedgehogs approached the front door leisurely, only to be stopped by two castle guards blocking the entrance. Sonic raised an eyebrow. Violett did nothing.

"State your name and your purpose", one of the guards bellowed. He was a skunk. Sonic already didn't like him. The guy reminded him too much of a certain other skunk he knew.

"I am Violett Ocean of the Hedgehog Empire. I came to talk to the royal family."

"The entire family?" the other guard, this one a rat barely out of her adolescence, asked surprised.

"If you wish to see the King, you must request an audience first", the skunk said, not waiting on Violett's response.

"Tell him I am of the Hedgehog Empire. That will render all formalities unnecessary. If he asks for proof, tell him I showed you this."

She stretched out her hand and out of the ring on her finger, the diadem from the previous day appeared. Sonic didn't get to look at it properly the first time, but now that he saw it close up, he was downright entranced by it. It was golden, looked almost mechanical in it's built, yet it's form was sleek and slender, the front decoration reminding a bit of three leaves. There was a beautiful white diamond on the center leaf. It was as if that one diadem represented the best of the technological, the natural and the mystical. And for just a moment, it seemed to call for Sonic. The moment, however, was gone when it disappeared back into Violett's ring.

The skunk seemed unsure of what to do. The rat, obviously the skunks junior, even more so. And Violett was not amused. Sonic had seen what happened when she ran out of patience only once, and Eggman would not have come out of it unscathed had Violett had decided differently. She did that thing again, where nothing about her changed, yet somehow, the air around her seemed to cool down. Sonic decided to step in.

"It's all cool", he said, stepping in front of Violett, whether to protect her from the guards or vice versa, he wasn't certain. "Look guys, she's with me. We're just here to visit Sally, maybe say hello to Elias and their folks, and then we're out. No need to get hostile."

That apparently didn't work, as the skunk decided to hold his lance to Sonic's throat.

"You dare address the princess so casually?" he demanded.

Sonic could feel the air behind him getting chillier. With an angry Violett at his back and a spear at his throat, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Lower your spear, guard", a voice appeared from seemingly nowhere.

Right in front of the doors to the castle, a lynx with dark hair and a purple dress manifested out of nowhere. Violett's eyes widened and fixated themselves on the lynx.

"Lady Nicole!" The skunk obeyed immediately and retracted his spear. Sonic let out a deep breath he hadn't known he was holding. The lynx turned to the hedgehog pair.

"Forgive them, Sonic. They haven't been on duty for very long and it's been a while since you visited."

"S'all good. Thanks for the rescue, Nicole."

He gave her a thumbs up and she responded with a tight hug that caught the speedster off guard.

"Sally will be so happy to see you. And you brought a friend! I'll introduce myself in a bit, let me just take care of the guards real quick."

So she turned around to face said guards, telling them all about how the person they had threatened was the legendary hero of Mobius, childhood friend of Princess Sally and was on her orders always welcomed in the castle. Sonic watched impatiently while Violett continued to stare at the Lynx skeptically.

The guards stepped aside, the doors opened and Nicole motioned them both inside. And as they walked, Nicole finally introduced herself to Violett.

"Forgive my rudeness, dear visitor, I should have come earlier."

Violett continued to stare.

"Ah, this body is made out of nanites. They are everywhere in this castle, so I can appear anywhere within and slightly outside its boundaries."

"So you are a computer?" the magician asked.

"An A.I. yes. I belong to Princess Sally, though she prefers to refer to me as a friend, rather than a possession. And I very much enjoy being her friend."

"I see."

And with that the conversation between the two was over. Nicole shot Sonic a confused look and he just shrugged his shoulders helplessly as an answer.

"I'll ... go tell Sally you're here. Why don't you wait here in the gardens. I know you've always enjoyed the outside more than a house."

"Thanks!." Sonic grinned

The lynx vanished and Violett narrowed her eyes, not even making an attempt at hiding her skepticism . It was basically radiating off in waves, impossible for Sonic to ignore.

"You don't like her?" he asked.

"It's not 'her' that I don't like", Violett answered.

That was all Sonic managed to get out of her. He wasn't even entirely sure what she was referring to with her answer, but every other question he asked to clarify was completely blocked off, so when Sally stormed out of the building, Sonic knew he'd have to wait for Violett to feel like talking.

"SONIC!", Sally yelled, poking Sonic's chest roughly. Yep, she was mad. "How long do you think it's been? You promised to come visit me regularly! Once in a blue moon is NOT regularly. You've been to another planet and through space, and didn't think about telling me your adventures even once! What do you have to say for yourself?"

She crossed her arms and glared at the blue hedgehog, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. She was wearing a floor length, baby blue dress, with a circlet on her head, an attire she would only ever wear inside the castle walls. She was beautiful as ever.

"Yeah, sorry about that."Sonic answered. "I'll tell all about what happened the last few months before I leave."

This got her attention. All her fury seemed to melt away in an instant.

"Leave? Leave where? Didn't you just get back?" she inquired.

"I'll let her explain that to you,'' he answered, gesturing to Violett, who had observed the entire thing quietly.

For the first time, Sally noticed the purple hedgehog and immediately, her composure changed. She straightened up, her face turned calm and serene and a small graceful smile grew on it. Her entire vibe changed to one of confidence, composure and control. Only her cheeks turned just a tidbit red from the embarrassment of having a stranger witness her outburst.

"Ahem", she cleared her throat, as if that were enough to wipe the table clean. "Forgive my outburst and allow me to introduce myself; I am Sally Acorn, crown-princess of Mobius. Who may you be and what may I assist you with." A small twinkle appeared in her eyes, "and maybe you can tell me how you managed to drag this slacker back in here."

Violett seemed unimpressed by Sally's change of demeanor and Sonic began to wonder how much control Sally really had of the situation and whether or not she was aware of that.

"I am Violett Ocean, of the Hedgehog Empire", the hedgehog introduced herself with her usual small curtsy.

Sally's composure vanished immediately. Her eyes went wide, her cheeks flushed an even darker shade of pink and Sonic could actually see her breath hitching in her throat. Then, she did something Sonic, in all of his years of knowing her, had never done before; she lowered her head and curtsied as deep as she possibly could.

"Your majesty!" Sally exclaimed, still not daring to look up. "Esteemed daughter of Reganiel, I deeply apologize for my behaviour. My rudeness is unacceptable and I shall gracefully accept any punishment you wish bestow upon me."

Sonic was flabbergasted to say the least. It was unheard of for Sally to be submissive towards anyone, not even her own parents. It was unheard of for _anyone_ coming from her family, all who were naturally proud and aware of their skills in leadership, to be submissive at all. For her to bow this deep to Violett, to willingly put herself beneath her, even putting justice into her hands … Sonic would not have believed it had he not seen it himself.

"Raise your head, Princess of Acorn. There is no daughter of Reganiel here, merely one of Saladiel."

Sally did as she was told and straightened up, though her face was solemn and her eyes would still not dare to meet Violett's.

"Of course", Sally answered. "Forgive the mistake, daughter of Saladiel. In my excitement, I failed to pay attention to your words. It shall not happen again."

Violett acknowledged Sally's apology with a small nod, then fell silent. Sally shot Sonic a helpless look, but he was so bewildered by everything that was happening that he failed to come up with anything, not even one of his famous one-liners.

"May I ask - and please forgive if this is out of line - may I ask the reason behind such an exceptionally rare visit? Surely you haven't come to sightsee such a humble castle when yours must be much, much more grand."

"You speak the truth, Princess of Acorn. I've come to ask for the sword that chose you as successor."

Sally completely froze.

"You don't have the right to do that,'' she whispered, thoughts of potential consequences of her rebuttal evident on her face.

"I don't have the right to take it,'' Violett corrected patiently. "But you have the right to give it to me. The decision is yours to make."

Sally's face dropped. Sonic could see each and every thought and emotion on her face so clearly, it seemed almost comical. There was incredulous disbelief at first, then her pride showed itself for a split second, before being replaced by just a brief glimpse of fear. There were several more things showing on her face, before she finally made up her mind. Once more she looked to the ground, not daring to meet Violett's eyes."

"Then gather them. I shall wait."

Sally curtsied once more and called for Nicole, who made her head appear next to Sally immediately.

"I heard everything," the lynx said. "Will 'a daughter of Saladiel is requesting an audience' do?"

"Yes. Thank you Nicole."

And just like that, Nicole disappeared again, while Sally turned back to Sonic and Violett.

"Please, follow me."

Sally led the duo through the castle into the conference room, a large room with Jury-esque pedestal in the shape of a half-circle in it. Sally asked for Violett to sit, before turning tail and basically running out of the room. There were a few moments of silence, apparently, something that Sonic needed to gather himself.

"What on Mobius was THAT?" he finally exploded.

Violett answered with a pointed look that Sonic willfully ignored.

"I mean, this is Sally we're talking about. An Acorn. She was bowing to you and she never bows. She's proud and stubborn and …"

"I'm well aware of the traits passed down in the Acorn family", Violett interrupted him.

"Then explain … well … that! Her! You! EVERYTHING!"

The magician sighed deeply, deciding to give in to Sonic's downright panicked demands.

"I come from a Kingdom much older, bigger and mightier than hers. That Kingdom is the Hedgehog Empire. When Acorn Kingdom was born, we were already considered ancient. To an Acorn, meeting a princess of the Hedgehog Empire must be akin to encountering a god."

Sonic whistled. Kingdom Acorn had been around for several millennia. If it was young in comparison to this Hedgehog Empire, just how much of a history did it have?

"Wait a minute! Didn't you keep saying you're not a princess yesterday?"

"I'm not. She mistook me for one."

Understandable. Him and his friends had done the same mistake and while this did provide an explanation, Sonic was still skeptical. His guts told him there was more to the story than she was letting on, but for now, his head was busy wrapping itself around everything that was happening and not all his questions had been answered yet. That even just a court magician from the Hedgehog Empire could be treated with so much respect was… a lot to take in. Eventually he settled on his biggest question-.

"She called you a daughter of Ragiel?" he asked.

"Reganiel", Violett corrected. "The very first queen of the Hedgehog Kingdom, long before it could call itself an empire. Amongst other royals, her descendants are generally referred to as Daughters of Reganiel."

"Which you are not. Instead you are a Daughter of …?"

"Saladiel, one of the first magicians who served Reganiel. Her descendants are generally referred to as …"

"...Daughters of Saladiel, I get the drift. So if meeting a daughter of Reganiel is like meeting a god, then meeting you must be like meeting a demigod."

"Perhaps", Violett said, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Sonic's association.

He let out a very deep sigh and closed his eyes. This was complicated and was making his head swim. And what's more, everything that Violett was explaining was probably only the tip of the iceberg. He thought of the diadem she had shown earlier. It had three tips, perhaps for the royal family, their magicians and their … knights? He didn't know how the thought of knights had sprung into his mind, but it seemed right, somehow. If only he could have another look at the diadem , maybe touch it …

The door slammed open, ripping Sonic out of his thoughts and he straightened up in his seat. There were the entire royal family, King Maximilian, Queen Alicia, Prince Elias and Princess Sally, standing all together at the entrance to the room. Sonic swallowed. If there were any people who ever managed to command him, hold authority over him, they were Maximilian and Sally. Both were present right now. Both looked very serious. Sonic did not like the sight of that.

"Wise daughter of Saladiel", King Max bowed deeply. His son followed immediately, while Sally and Alicia fell into a deep curtsy. "We humbly welcome you to our Kingdom."

Violett looked pleased with their entrance. "Raise your heads, Rulers of Acorn, and hear my plea."

The family did as they were told and straightened back up. While being absolutely respectful and probably following protocol in every way, Sonic could still clearly see the hostility in Maximilian's eyes. His daughter must have informed him of Violett's agenda. Apparently, Violett could, too. She made no attempt at hiding her tenseness and he knew she was ready to strike at any given moment. Sonic only hoped she would limit herself to verbal strikes.

"I've come to ask for your Barrier Key."

Maximilian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, readying himself for the confrontation that was sure to come. He took another deep bow and spoke.

"Even if a Daughter of Saladiel is asking, I fear we cannot comply with this request. The Sword of Acorns is sacred in this Kingdom. It must be protected and never given to anyone it has not chosen of its own accord."

"Unless …" Violett narrowed her eyes, leaving that word hanging. It was a clear indicator that Maximilians speech was not over and he was to continue. So he did.

"... unless we are no longer capable of protecting it."

Once again pleased, Violett ordered Maximilian to raise his head. He did, and for the first time, stared directly into Violett's eyes. He did not budge, despite the intensity Sonic knew he could find in them. He was impressed.

"You are implying that we are not." Maximilian said. It was not a question.

"An offense on my part, I am aware. There is no emergency, no order from the dragons, nothing that would imply you were no longer able to protect your most sacred heirloom, lest I accuse you of incompetency. Allow me to assure you that I am not."

She gracefully jumped over the table and walked straight up the family. Sonic decided to lean back in his chair and observe. Just as he had suspected, there was more to all of this than Violett had told him.

"I take it in your studies, you all have learned of the Unhinged War?"

The four acorns shared uncertain looks, but all nodded eventually.

"In that war", Violett continued, "there was a threat as great as Ira himself; his shadow, the head of all the dirty, underground work that allowed him to gather the masses to his ideals with little resistance, his deadly counterpart, as beautiful as she was ruthless, as loyal as she was cruel, dedicated to Ira and Ira only."

"Lupa", Queen Alicia said solemnly.

"Lupa", Violett confirmed.

"With all due respect, wise Mistress, the Unhinged War was centuries ago. What does any of it have to do with us no longer being able to protect our Barrier Key?" Maximilian almost shouted.

"Would you be able to protect it from her?" Violett asked.

The King fell silent and looked back to the ground. The other three royal members too, shuffled in their shoes, uncertain of how to best convey the answer. They didn't have to. Their silence was answer enough.

"Lupa is alive", Violett declared. "And not only that, she has barely aged since she was last seen and is more powerful than ever." Violett pointed straight at Sally, who nearly jumped out of her skin. "She is also after your Barrier Key!"

King Maximilian went white, his eyes wide, his lips trembling. He was afraid, terrified even. He opened his mouth a few times, only to close it again, fishing for the words that needed to be said and the questions that needed to be asked.

"If … if this is true … why aren't the dragons on the case?"

"They are", Violett answered. "That is why I am here. Who do you think is better to go up against a magician than another one? Her tribe? Abandon her they might, but they will never turn against one of their own."

Again there was a long moment of silence in which Maximilian was contemplating everything that was said and everything that was to be said from here.

"I need proof." He demanded.

"I have none."

"Then we cannot give you the sword."

Knowing this would be their answer, Violett released a deep sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she continued.

"The Servants of Chaos only had their Key stolen less than a week ago. I was there by chance, I saw her, in all her mighty terror. I managed to protect only the young ones, children younger than your daughter who now carry a kingdom on their shoulders. Everyone else was brutally slaughtered." For such dark words, Violett's voice was disturbingly calm. "You think I would wait for word to get to all the Kingdoms? For an ambassador to arrive in each one? For an official document telling of my agenda? By the time any of this happened, several of the great Kingdoms may already be wiped out."

Again, King Maximilian looked to the floor, more emotions mixing on his face than Sonic could make out.

"The way I see, King of Acorns, you have two choices. You give me your Key and I will make sure to keep it safe. Or you do not and hope for dear life that the dragons arrive before Lupa does. If you're lucky, they might actually be able to keep you alive. The fate of the Barrier Key on the other hand … that's a different question altogether.."

"Can ..." Sally spoke up, finally meeting Violett's eyes. "Can you stop her?"

Ironically, it was Violett who avoided the Acorn princess' gaze. She looked down, knowing she would have to be truthful.

"Nobody can stop her for certain", she said. "If anything, I have the best cards in a very bad deal."

All faces in the room fell … all except for one. Sonic alone, dared to grin.

"It'll be fine", he said.

He jumped from his seat and leisurely walked over to Violett, carrying all the confidence in his stride that the others had lost. The royal family watched on, scandalized by the informality of his air against the more regal and clearly annoyed Daughter of Saladiel.

"I'll fight alongside her", he grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder, making Sally visibly flinch, much to his amusement, "And so will the others"

"Is this true, Daughter of Saladiel?" Maximilian asked, his eyes turned to Violett.

The magician in question gave no sign of surprise, not even a hint of her constant rebuttals at Sonic's proposals on joining her in her quest. What she did do, was blush, more so in anger than embarrassment, and grit her teeth so hard, Sonic could practically hear them grinding

"They talked me into it", she managed to press through her teeth..

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, all four members of the royal family burst into laughter, making Violett's eyes twitch and her face go even redder. Even Sonic couldn't help but chuckle, impressed at how well she was going along with his little white lie.

"To think Sonic managed to talk a daughter of the Hedgehog Empire into something", Elias choked out between laughs.

"Goodness", Sally was already crying. "If anyone could have, it would have been him."

"To be expected of the Hero of Mobius", Alicia giggled.

"A hedgehog's gotta do what a hedgehog's gotta do", Sonic grinned.

"You said it, son", Maximilian managed to choke out.

Violett stood rigid until the laughter died down, which took quite a while. But as it slowly faded, even she relaxed, realizing that Sonic had successfully managed to deescalate the situation. He was a lot smarter and a lot slyer than he made himself out to be. Violett had to give Sonic credit for that. Then finally, the Acorn King's giggles died down, though the smile remained on his face.

"Forgive this little outburst", he said, wiping a tear away. "It's good to know you have Sonic by your side. He somehow always manages to surprise us with his ridiculous ability to pull through."

"I shall keep that in mind", Violett answered dryly.

"What do you think?" the King turned to his wife and son, both of them giving their consent to give the sword to Violett. "Sally, you are the current wielder of the sword. Ultimately, the choice is yours. What do you say?"

The chipmunk in question glanced at Sonic, who gave a short, encouraging nod. After taking another deep breath she stepped forward to stand face to face with Violett and only now did Sonic see that she actually stood taller than the purple hedgehog.

"Will you take good care of it?" she asked.

"To the best of my abilities."

"Will you return it?"

"If I am capable of holding on to it until the end."

"And …", Sally stole a quick glance at Sonic, "will you protect my friends."

Violett's eyes suddenly got a lot fiercer and Sally had to pull together all her self control to not flinch back. "I cannot control them or their actions, but so far as my control reaches, I'd rather get tortured for a century by Lupa's hand than to let a single strand of fur on their bodies get damaged."

The intensity of her words surprised everyone, including Sonic and for another moment, there was a stunned silence that filled the room. Then, Sally broke it.

"Follow me."

She took a big breath and turned on her heels, striding out of the hall. Sonic and Violett exchanged a quick, triumphant glance before following suit. The end of the line was built by the rest of the royal family. Together, they walked into the center of the castle, taking stairway after stairway until they were deep underground. There, on the other side of the door, was a high, cylindrical room with a pool of glowing orange liquid in its center. Violett raised an eyebrow at the sight of it.

"Hiding the Barrier Key in your source of all?" She commented. "I must admit, that's smart."

She stepped forward until she had reached the small set of steps of stairs that led down into the pool. There, she stood for a few seconds, before turning around.

"You may want to leave this room."

"I will stay!" Sally declared. "The Sword of Acorns is my responsibility, so I will see this through until it's safely delivered."

Violett's eyes wandered to Sonic.

"I'm with Sally", he said lazily. "Besides, why wouldn't I want to see some cool magic voodoo?"

Still with no comment, Violett looked at the rest of Sally's family. The King, Queen and Prince all exchanged looks, before King Max declared that they too, would stay.

"Suit yourself", Violett answered and turned back to the pool. "But do know that everything that happens from here on out is out of my control"

She closed her eyes and took one deep breath. That breath, she held for several seconds until slowly, almost meditavely, she released it. Then, she opened her eyes, the focus in them sharp enough to cut down anything in its way. She opened her mouth and said a single word.

Sonic was never quite able to make out that word. All he knew was that there was more to it than just air vibrations. It echoed across the room, each echo resounding in a different voice and each voice charged with something … different. Something … not quite mortal.

And that was just the word itself. The effect it had was a completely different story. Winds picked up in the room out of nowhere, many of them, going in all sorts of directions. They themselves were filled with voices, whispering wondrous and dangerous promises. One wind stopped right in front of Sonic, turning in on itself to create a figure that Sonic was barely able to make out. But it was there and whatever it was, it shook Sonic to his very core. He couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't breathe. He was certain the wind was saying something, but the terror shook him so deeply, he could barely focus on it. Only one word reached him and that one word was so absolute, he could not help but obey; "Kneel!"

Sonic didn't bow to anybody. The moment he did, he would recognize a master and Sonic the Hedgehog had no master. He was as free as the winds that blew through Green Hill. But that thing in front of him overpowered him. No matter how much he struggled, he could not resist the weight of that one command. So slowly, he was forced down on one knee. For the first time ever, Sonic kneeled to someone.

The wind seemed satisfied and lost its form, deciding instead to roam around the rooms with the rest of its kin. And still, Sonic could not get back to his feet. He looked at Sally and her family, who weren't just on on their knees, but were downright groveling on the ground, terrified of what was happening, judging by the looks on their faces. He looked at Violett, who was still standing where she stood, patiently waiting for the Sword of Acorns, hovering in midair, to come to her. Orange liquid was still dripping from it, indicating it had just left the Source of All. Slowly, more slowly than what Sonic was comfortable with, it moved toward Violett. When it was finally, _finally_ in her hand, the winds disappeared and with them, the pressure. Sonic fell to his hands and feet, gasping for breath, only now realizing he had barely been able to breathe in the presence of … _them_. Whatever they were. Violett held out her right hand, where her ring was shining brightly, sucking in the sword of acorns until it entirely disappeared within it. Then, she turned around, walking to Sonic first. She hovered a hand above his head and as it began to glow green, Sonic found his strength returning. She did the same thing to all the others in the her own expense, Sonic found, as her breathing became ragged and her walk a little unstable. The results of this little event were six animas in one room, out of breath and undoubtedly shaken. So much so, that nobody even dared to ask about the sentient winds. Not even Sonic.

* * *

"I gotta admit, I was surprised at how easily the sword accepted you. I always thought it only allowed its chosen heir to wield it", Sonic thought out loud.

"There are exceptions", Violett simply answered.

At this point, Sonic understood her well enough to know that the tone of voice she was currently using meant this topic was over with. He looked back towards the castle they had left minutes ago, his mind drifting to all the exchanges that happened. There was still so much he didn't know, so many questions that had been raised. He'd leave it be for now. The winds, he may even let be forever. He couldn't help but to feel like they were a force he did not want to get involved in. One interaction however, did have to be elaborated on and Sonic couldn't help the sly grin that creeped onto his features when he thought of it.

"So has the wise daughter of Saladiel finally given in to my humble request? Wilst thou tolerate our companionship and ease the pain of the esteemed Sir Prower?" he mocked.

Violett closed her eyes as a response. She knew this wouldn't be done, not after he had put her on the spot the way he did back in the castle.

"I'll see what I can do."

It was enough of a confirmation to make Sonic jump up excitedly. He had finally broken the mage's icy exterior and all it took was being a little sly. But his celebration was cut short when he felt something pointy at his throat. Violett had a new staff, different from the one she used to conjure up barriers, this one holding a dangerously pointed end.

"However", she started, her eyes narrowing, "never forget that I am the sole magician of the Hedgehog Empress. As such, I have my pride and my values. Pull a move like that on me again and I will make sure to engrave those values onto your body!"

Sonic gulped heavily, standing rigid until Violett turned her staff back into her ring. Only then did he dare to exhale. She hadn't done the 'air getting cold thing' so she might not have been serious, but with this lady, Sonic would really rather not take his chances.

Knuckles had been right; Violett really wasn't the most pleasant of people.

* * *

 **So, from the looks of it I can get out around four chapters a year. That's actually pretty okay, considering my crazy schedule. I'm cool with this.**

 **Come January, I'm gonng start my Bachelor movie, so I won't have much time for anything else. The deadline for it is in April, so around that time is when you can expect the next chapter. Chapter 11 is in the works and chapter five will be reviewed after the Baachelor movie is finished. As always, if you want to know what happens next, go on my profile and read "Dimensional Travels", the original version of Limits (it's very bad though).**

 **Thank you to NeckBreak for reviewing, as well as for all the hits and favorites. Thanks as well to Alysa, my beta-reader who has to chew me out more often than I'd like to admit. Please leave a comment, they're a writers lifeline. Constructive criticism is especially welcome, questions will be answered next chapter and flames will be ignored. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you all next chapter.**

 _ **Preview:**_

 _ **It was her footsteps that tore Tails out of his trance. They echoed in the hall and ripped through the silence like a spear**_


	5. Chapter 5

Hello faithful readers

No I am not dead. Not by a long shot, actually. Here's the thing; my beta-reader has dissappeared. Since the pandemic broke out, it's become impossible to contact her. I don't know what happened and I hope she is okay, but until I have any new details, I'm going to need a substiture (or perhaps just a second in general?) beta reader. If anyone wants to volunter (or volunter someone else) please DM me.

As of the moment I post this, I have two chapters that are ready for review, five that are written, but haven't gone through a second pass yet and one that's currently in the works. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please and thank you


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